HH STUBBORN…is one-track minded,doesn’t listen -GBM
By Kombe Chimpinde Mataka
PF vice-chairperson for mobilisation Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba says President Hakainde Hichilema is not listening to his handlers.
Mwamba, popularly known as GBM, told The Mast that the situation in which President Hichilema left Kabushi Constituency where he went on a five-day campaign trail despite the High Court matter in which PF candidates Bowman Lusambo and Joseph Malanji were seeking the cancellation of the by-elections following the ECZ’s decision to disqualify them, was an unfortunate.
“For some of us who know Hakainde Hichilema, even the time he was saying that it was normal in a democratic dispensation for the elections in Kabushi and Kwacha to be cancelled on camera, I think he
felt frustrated. He was not himself. He was not even confident about what he was saying. He knew that there was something wrong anyway. I am sure he will not make the same mistake, he has learnt something,” Mwamba said. “In fact, the President himself should have read in between the lines if the handlers had forced him. But knowing how stubborn he is after working with him for four years, I am sure he ignored the advice of the handlers and Office of the President. As stubborn as late Michael Sata was, may his soul rest in peace, he was listening somehow to his handlers and even to his close associates because he knew that he would not have known everything despite him being in politics for so many years.”
Mwamba said President Hichilema should be strategic in defying advice from his handlers.
“But my piece of advice to him is, he is no longer an opposition leader anymore. He is a Republican President. He must listen to his handlers. He must listen to the Office of the President. He can then assess if there is need to go back and reconcile positions. And he can provide reasoning behind his defying of advice. That is how governments are run,” Mwamba said. “But if somebody wants to run a government single handedly, one is bound to make mistakes. And he will continue making mistakes and at the end of the day Zambians will lose confidence in him. For me the message from one of his members of parliament this week was message enough. He found it fit and he cannot hold it any longer. He has exposed the boss who for me is a one-track minded person. He does not want to listen.”
Mwamba advised President Hichilema to listen to everyone regardless of their social status.
“But he must just learn to listen to even small
boys like him. Sometimes even young people can say something about politics. Politics is about consulting at all times. You may have a vision but the vision of those that you are ruling are different. So that means you will clash,” said Mwamba. “So, in politics one has to always try and follow the vision of those you are governing, not what you want. Of course, there are certain times when you would want certain things done in your way when the people also want it in their way. What is important is to do what is required of you. The people of Zambia are now his bosses. People are currently saying let Malanji and Lusambo recontest those seats. The people have been talking about Kabushi and Kwacha the past two weeks. So let them stand. If they are not popular, they will lose but don’t use the judiciary to fight political battles with your opponent. That is wrong.”