I HAVEN’T DISCLOSED SECRETS -AMB EMMANUEL MWAMBA
…what I have is experience, says Mwamba.
By Ernest Chanda
EMMANUEL Mwamba says he has not disclosed any information that he knew by virtue of his position as a diplomat.
He cites several factors for PF loss in August 2021 stressing, “Political arrogance where we took it for granted that the party will sail through. You can see through our messages, ‘alebwelelapo, sorry’. It’s like it doesn’t matter what you do we are coming back.”
Mwamba as Zambia’s immediate past ambassador to Ethiopia and permanent representative to the African Union.
He is vying for the presidency of the Patriotic Front (PF) at the party’s general conference scheduled for June this year.
“What I have is experience, and I have sworn various oaths in my various positions that I have held and I’ve not disclosed secrets that I’ve sworn. But I can use my experience to criticise,” he told The Mast in an interview.
“For example, if you want to unbundle Zesco, have you learnt what happened in Zimbabwe where [Zimbabwe Electricity Supple Authority] ZESA was unbundled and now government has ordered that it be rebundled (sic)? Have you seen the crisis in Kenya where there’s regret about unbundling? Have you seen the unbundling in Ghana?”
Defending his constant criticism of the current government especially through social media, Mwamba continued, “So, I have that experience and I can give you those examples.
Go the IMF route I’ll remind you of what happened in the 90s under Dr [Frederick] Chiluba. I’m not disclosing any secrets. I’m just warning you of the danger when you take that path.”
He boasted of political experience which he would use for the people’s benefit.
“If you wish to engage in extensive borrowing like this government wishes to, which came on a platform that there will be zero borrowing; that they will raise domestic resources and they’ll restructure the debt but you quickly go into borrowing using the Central Bank and going up to the open market! That we should voice out,” Mwamba said.
“So, yes, I’ve a lot of experience and it’s to the benefit of the people of Zambia. It’s not to my personal benefit. So, our role in this country is to help develop this country.
Leave it better than the previous government found it. That should always be the norm, and not to throw away everything the previous government did.”
Mwamba is against looking at previous governments in the negative.
He argued that there should be positives that could be identified in every past president.
“This has been the trend where Dr Chiluba comes and says everything Dr Kaunda did was bad. Mwanawasa says everything that Chiluba did was bad. Rupiah Banda also changes. Sata says everything that Rupiah Banda did was wrong,” he said.
“Now in this case Hichilema says, ‘no, everything that Edgar Lungu did was bad and the PF’. We should depart from that. I think let’s pick the strengths and the achievements and build on them. Correct the mistakes of the past.”
Asked what kind of rebranding should be expected in the PF when the party had the same faces which failed Zambians, Mwamba said party members would decide.
“On people that could have done wrong things and were part of the mistakes of the past and they are part of the party, this we will leave to the wisdom of the party. The party has a democratic process, it has conferences that it holds,” Mwamba said.
“I think the members are wise enough to resolve such issues. It should not be imposed on people, for example to ask them to resign, no. In my view, we leave it to the wisdom of the members.”
He said it was not criminal to lose an election, adding that the PF was being viewed that way.
Mwamba viewed the loss as an opportunity for PF members to reflect and plan for the future.
“First of all, it’s not a criminal offence to lose power. We’ve lost power, the Zambian people punished us for various reasons. Whether it was arrogance, whether it was political cadres, whether it was the perception of politics, whether it was the poor state of the economy, we lost an election. And it’s a lesson for all of us,” Mwamba said.
“I want to dismiss these assertions that when a party loses power it’s treated in a criminal way. No, I think it shouldn’t be that way. It’s an opportunity to reflect, recognise your weaknesses and mistakes.
Look at the policies that failed and improve on them – go back to the people of Zambia afresh to sell yourself.”
Asked further what he thought made the PF lose, Mwamba has a catalogue of reasons.
“There are various factors why the party lost the election. Number one, the economy. The economy was very bad. From 2015 this economy was plagued with the drought, energy shortages and floods.
This constrained the growth of our economy and it affected adversely, especially small and medium enterprises,” he explained.
“You come to the other factor; the other biggest factor is the pandemic that came in 2019. It reached Zambia in 2020 and affected not just Zambia but the global economy where out of 190 countries only two countries were growing, were registering positive economic growth; which was Ethiopia and China at one per cent and six per cent respectively.”
Mwamba continued: “We have high levels of unemployment and young people are looking for someone who can resolve the unemployment crisis.
Then political mistakes like allowing free reign to party cadres; sometimes overriding institutions and disregarding, for example, traffic regulations and disregarding police instructions. That didn’t go well with our people. Our people want the rule of law.”
He cited other factors which he said were mistakes to learn from.
“Political arrogance where we took it for granted that the party will sail through. You can see through our messages, ‘alebwelelapo, sorry’. It’s like it doesn’t matter what you do we are coming back,” Mwamba said.
“So, you can even see in the campaign promise that there was political arrogance. So, there are many factors that made the PF lose the elections. But for me these are mistakes to learn from.
They are not negatives because we have passed it – we lost an election. So, going ahead what do we do? So, we look at those mistakes and rebuild ourselves.”
On the way forward, he envisaged a united opposition that respected people’s wishes.
“That it (PF) should be a strong opposition for the people of Zambia. That it should collaborate with other parties such as the Socialist Party, the Democratic Party and other progressive parties that are looking at the positive progression of this country,” said Mwamba.
“It should band around issues, make itself amenable to the Church and civil society groupings. It has to be driven by everyone. If you have to wrestle power from the UPND in 2026, you have to create a coalition in formality or in understanding.
There should be cooperation in alliances, both formal and informal. Everyone should come to the table very strong.