By Kombe Chimpinde Mataka
PF presidential aspirant Emmanuel Mwamba has challenged the UPND to consider enacting a law to fund political parties as opposed to asking where PF candidates are getting money for nominations.
He says he was a seasoned civil servant who could not fail to raise a K200,000.
“Look I have been an ambassador for seven years, I was permanent secretary for five years. I am a person of landed property. I know the economy is hard but K200,000 is something I can afford and I speak for
the other candidates and even those that didn’t file,” Mwamba said. “You have a sober clean candidate. Well experienced. Someone who can beat HH clean, that is Emmanuel Mwamba.”
Reacting to calls for PF presidential aspirants be probed for paying K200,000 nomination fees each, Mwamba when he featured on Hot FM breakfast show on Monday said the UPND was the one dragging over legislation on political party funding.
“Political parties are part of democracy of this country. They therefore should be funded. They should disclose their source of
funding. There should be a legal framework regulating especially financing for political parties,” he said. “The UPND have been in the forefront refusing that legislation, you can trace it from 2008. Our secretariats can be funded by the state. You can put it pro rata to those that are in parliament for their strength.
There has been a huge debate about political funding and the political parties have not arrived at consensus where people can disclose their sources of funding. Where the state can fund the secretariat or the general conference because that is what democracies
do all over the world, that the major stakeholders are political parties. They recognise that political parties are major stakeholders.
They need to be helped and prevent them from being susceptible to illicit financing that may then affect policies. For example, a mine house can fund a candidate and come and sway your policies that may disadvantage the country. Your know tax free policies, incentives, so they have repercussions. That is why we have to deal with the bigger issue, the funding of political parties before you ask individuals where they are getting their money from.”
Mwamba said he was a seasoned civil servant who could not fail to raise a K200,000.
“Look I have been an ambassador for seven years, I was permanent secretary for five years. I am a person of landed property. I know the economy is hard but K200,000 is something I can afford and I speak for the other candidates and even those that didn’t file. The K200,000 was commitment. Many people expressed interest, just for sake of interest, so the K200,000 was to serve as commitment to whoever was serious and that is why the eight finally filed in their nominations. And remember this is a period of two months. The notice was August 12, and nominations opened on 1st September,” he said. “We disregard the insults from Hon (Obvious) Mwaliteta. Usually his comments arise from a lot of ignorance. There is no law that regulates political funding in the country. So you can get from well wishers. It does not have to be your personal income. Politicians
don’t even use their money, most of their money.”
Asked if the PF party was still pro-poor, Mwamba said the values of the PF was that it was a social democratic party.
“We work for the poor. We work for ordinary people and we remain so. We do not lose our values. We don’t favour investors like the UPND does. We remain true to the cause of the Patriotic Front. Even in the central
committee, there was a robust debate about the K200,000. As I stated earlier it came from K500,000 to K 200,000,” he said. “You have a sober clean candidate. Well experienced. Someone who can beat HH clean, that is Emmanuel Mwamba. EM8.