GREYFORD MONDE DETESTS REGIONAL POLITICS
…vows to unite the country once elected as President
Lusaka, Wednesday, December 21, 2022 (Smart Eagles)
Since his ministerial appointment by the late President Micheal Sata which eventually saw him work hand in hand with the PF regime, up to date, questions are being asked as to whether the PF presidential hopeful, Hon Greyford Monde can be trusted by Zambians.
Hon Monde received his first ministerial appointment when he was still a UPND member, which was then in opposition.
Since then, people have been calling the potential PF president names but the sound leader remains firm as he thrives to champion unity in the country.
As he appeared on the Linda Banks show which prompted a heated up and highly informative debate today, Hon Monde was made to tackle the question surrounding mistrust, emerging from his joining of the PF.
In tackling the subject, Hon Monde said his appointment under the PF regime was constitutional.
He explained that the moment he stepped into the National Assembly, he became part of the national leadership, which qualified him to take up any role based on the appointment.
The PF presidential hopeful said those that wish to crucify him for the move he made should first take a look at the provisions of the constitution regarding the matter in question.
“Even those that have served us in the past, almost every President in this country belonged to a certain political party before they actually formed government. The issue of mistrust is constitutional. Then if you are to crucify me, you are to go the constitution to say the Constitution should not read as it does. Once you move in the National assembly, you are no longer a member of Parliament for that one area. You are in the national leadership,” he said.
“What I went to do was to work for the country. So there is no need for members to feel the mistrust. Where the members were supposed to feel the mistrust for example is when the UPND formed government, I should have been very excited to want to join back.”
And Hon Monde detested the regional politics that has for a while been happening in the country.
He said he will ensure that the country becomes united and burry issues of regionalism once he becomes Republican President.
“I lost my seat in the UPND stronghold which is Itezhi Tezhi, they could have also expected me like many others of my colleagues, some of them that joined with me from various political parties, that joined the ruling party at that time, almost everyone is gone. As we talk right now, I am probably the only one standing that came from the opposition,” he said.
When Linda Banks asked him “do you now think that the people of Itezhi Tezhi could not vote for you because they could not trust you anymore?” Monde said “I want to tell you that there is a lot of regional politics that has been happening in this country, regionalism and all of that. These politics have been taking a tore on our people. At one point it was clear that the Southern part of the country was dominated by the opposition then and that the Northern was dominated by the PF. I can tell you that the weakest candidates in Southern won elections and the strongest lost.”
He reechoed that he wants the country to be truly One Zambia One Nation.
“This is one of the things I would really want to address once I become President that we need to get a moment where we will unite our country and get our country to stop looking at regions, stop looking at names, stop looking at political parties that these are from a certain region,” he said.
“You saw and you heard people say there is no way Monde can want to participate in PF party which is dominantly believed to be a Northern Party and he comes from the Western, how can he participate? I want to kill that myth by ensuring that I participate…. We are actually enhancing and becoming one Zambia One Nation.”