By Patson Chilemba
Harry Kalaba has blamed me for having persuaded him to support Edgar Lungu for the presidency in 2015, says ruling PF member George Zulu.
Speaking with Daily Revelation, Zulu who has served in several ministries as permanent secretary and was recently Ambassador to Australia, said Democratic Party leader Kalaba visited him recently for purposes of recruitment and blamed him for having persuaded him to support President Lungu, who had turned out to be a failure.
“Kalaba came with good intentions to invite me to work together, I did not say no. I said I will discuss with Panji, because I said we are still in PF. When we went into PF we went together and we had the blessings of Dr Kenneth Kaunda. He said if you are going to work with Sata go and do clean, clean, clean politics,” Amb Zulu said. “He came here and among other things Harry Kalaba blamed me for having persuaded him to support Edgar Lungu for presidency in 2015.”
Amb Zulu said Kalaba wanted to have a go at the presidency in 2015, but he persuaded him against that. During that time, Amb Zulu served as Kalaba’s permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“He blamed me that the person I persuaded him to support is a failure, he has failed. Ati balepela,” he said.
Amb Zulu said he urged Kalaba to back the candidature of President Lungu, as he was the one acting as President when the late president Michael Sata was undergoing medical treatment in London, where he passed away from.
“At one time when president Sata asked me in the presence of the director of Intelligence to nominate someone to act when he was going to Israel, I proposed Lungu at which president Sata accused me of being tribal, and then he immediately said in that case I’m choosing Wynter Kabimba, and that’s how Wynter acted as president,” Amb Zulu said, adding however, that he did not regret his decision over president Lungu, although he felt he must leave the stage now. “I was his major supporter, everybody knows that, but I think personally I’m thinking that he should have people to emulate. If I was him, it’s to emulate Nelson Mandela, you dance and go when people are clapping. He has performed to his best.”
Asked if President Lungu’s best was good enough for the country, Amb Zulu said he could not grade the President in the same category as the other presidents he had served under, including Dr Kenneth Kaunda and Sata.
“I still think that KK was the best. His policies educated us,” he said.
Asked if he would consider Kalaba’s offer, Amb Zulu said he had always worked with Dr Panji Kaunda, saying he would raise the matter with him.
“He is my mentor, my brother. So if he says George let’s leave politics we are leaving,” he said.
On the PF, Amb Zulu said what the ruling party needed was to refocus on the ideals that brought them to power, by revisiting pro-poor policies.