THERE IS NO DIRECTION
…reveals Mourinho as he ditches PF
Lusaka, Wednesday, June 8, 2023 ( Smart Eagles)
After having fought battles for over five years for the party, Antonio Mourinho Mwanza, the Patriotic Front (PF) Media Director has announced his resignation which will be effective on the 30th of this month.
Addressing the media in Lusaka today, the seasoned politician also announced that he is parting ways with the party.
His resignation comes amid “lack of direction by the central committee.”
“After our loss in 2021, the Patriotic Front took a very important step by appointing a team that went countrywide to come up with a postmortem report. The report also gave detailed recommendations of what the Patriotic Front ought to do to in order to bounce back into power in 2026,” he said.
“One of the key issues was that the Patriotic Front must go to a general conference to elect a leader to take over from Edgar Lungu.”
He said the people who love PF are in limbo because the party leadership has failed to provide them with direction.
“It has failed to provide them with hope, it has failed to show them where we are going. Everyday people call me, everyday people come to the secretariat, everyday people as ba PF tuleya kwi? (where are we going?) when are we choosing our leader? Are we ever going to have a general conference? What is our hope?” he asked.
“Two years down the line, the leadership has failed to provide direction. The leadership has failed to give a clear roadmap when the party is going to hold a general conference and elect the president of the Patriotic Front to mobilise this party for 2026.”
Mr Mwanza said the late President Michael Sata gave an example every time he lost elections.
“He went back to the structures; he went back to the people. Our structures are in dilemma. They don’t know where to go. The membership of the party has been loyal to this party. I know the central committee; I have worked with the central committee in the last five years. The majority of the members of the central committee mean well for the party,” he said.
“But there is a small clique within that thinks that they can bulldoze and risk the contributions and sacrifice that people that worked with Michael Sata have sacrificed. The contributions and sacrifices of those that have been in the PF for 20 years and have not benefited anything but they continue to support this party. There is a small group that thinks they can bulldoze and delay the process to elect the next leader. Even those that mean well for the party are failing to come forward to help the party because a party without a leader can’t sell.”
Mourinho insisted that members of the party want to see a president elected.
He added that the members recognize that “we only have two years before the next election. Our members want to see a party with a president.”
The vocal vibrant politician said “having been part and parcel and worked for the central committee, as the person at the secretariat, I can say this with confidence that there is no commitment, there is no willingness, there is no desire, there is no dedication whatsoever from central committee to take this party to a general election.”
“The principle recommendation of the postmortem report, to take this party to a general conference has been hijacked by few people who don’t want to see this party go to a general election. You have heard some of the excuses they are giving, we don’t have money. It is the job of the central committee to mobilise the mobilise resources.”
He argued that there is no case in the high court or any court where the PF has been stopped from holding a general conference.
“This cannot be used as an excuse. Clearly, we have reached the crossroads. There is no intent, there is no commitment and there is no willingness for the general conference,” he said.
“Members have lost property, have lost jobs, have lost opportunities, our members have sacrificed everything yet there are some people who want to continue drawing us back. I don’t see a party without a president mobilizing itself for 2026. There is no direction.”