I should be enjoying when you’re eating yourselves, Nalumango mocks PF

I should be enjoying when you’re eating yourselves, Nalumango mocks PF

By Fanny Kalonda(The Mast )

YOU are eating yourselves and we are watching and you think we should help you, says Vice-President Mutale Nalumango.

“Stop what you are doing. Although I am not even supposed to counsel you because I should be enjoying when you are eating yourselves. We are your competitors,” she said.

Responding to Mpika PF member of parliament Francis Kapyanga during the Vice-President’s Question Time in parliament on Friday, she said the UPND government has denounced by-elections.

Vice-President Nalumango said the opposition PF are annoying Zambians.

In his question, Kapyanga accused the government of struggling with fiscal space and wondered if it was prioritising politics over the well-being of Zambians by having to spend K200 million on by-elections on nine constituencies.

But Vice-President Nalumango said the government values the opposition but that the opposition is lost.

“Do you know you the opposition PF you are annoying the Zambian people? Who expelled, did we expel people from here? Come on, this is a serious matter for me. It’s a very serious matter. People who voted you, you come here and you start playing games. Today the president is this one, expelled, tomorrow no he has also fired! Honourable Kapyanga, please understand some of us. It’s very painful, we are democratic. We value you yes, we value opposition but opposition is lost,” she said. “There is an insect which eats itself, honourable…this is serious. You are eating yourselves and we are watching and you think we should help you. This is what this opposition particularly the PF is doing, eating itself. And they expect us who are competitors to go in and say no, eat yourself! You have let the Zambian people down. Come on go and think about it. Don’t take these things lightly. This is national issue. We have said, my President even he has pronounced that he doesn’t want by-elections. Then you start firing yourselves, so he should change the law? You are letting us down. Go and become proper opposition. Stop what you are doing. Although I am not even supposed to counsel you because I should be enjoying when you are eating yourselves. We are your competitors. Be serious.”

The Vice-President admitted that the government was struggling with fiscal space but “it is not its creation”.

“Fiscal space? Today? You didn’t know there was no fiscal space just three years ago. This is reality, colleagues. Don’t ask me these questions, honourable member. For me I stand here, yes, as Vice-President but I also have a persona, and therefore, to stand here and outright tell untruths will not help me. Will not help me. But for a member who belongs to a former ruling party to start saying you are struggling with fiscal space, yes we are,” she said. “But this is not our creation. That’s the point minister you created. You removed the fiscal space. Did you find fiscal space? There was none and we are talking of projects not being completed. We have never pronounced in this House or anywhere that from now we have stopped completing projects that are below 80 per cent. You pronounced that. How can you forget your own things, your own pronouncements? That’s why I said don’t over expose yourselves. Some of these things be calm because you are reminding Zambians. This government has stood here even with the failed fiscal space that we found we have said we will complete the projects slowly as we go on and that is happening.”

And responding to Bangweulu PF member of parliament Anthony Kasandwe who accused the government of killing democracy and remaining alone in local government and in parliament, Vice-President Nalumango said the government does not want by-elections.

“Out of the by-elections, for local council, that we have had 98 per cent of those are in this by UPND giving those councillors jobs. This is in the quest for UPND to remain alone in this House, to remain alone in local authority – councils. I want to ask the Vice-President to search her soul and examine her conscious as she answers my question. Madam Speaker even the background I have outlined, this is the record of UPND in terms of killing democracy and remaining alone in local government and in parliament. Is this the record you are proud of as a vice-president? Kindly search your soul and examine your conscious, I submit,” said Kasandwe.

In response, Vice-President Nalumango said petitions in a democracy are normal.

“This is what it is. The issue of petitions, one, is part of democracy. Don’t see it as an abnormality. In democracy people have a right to petition when they feel that there is something that went wrong. UPND has been petitioning before, PF petitioned plenty. MMD almost everybody who won in MMD 2011 was petitioned. Nobody cried foul because we agreed that that is part of democracy. So honourable, indeed you have given the history but I think I have given us shortest answer that that is part of democracy,” she said. “Madam Speaker, speaking to colleagues here who did request me to do soul searching yes all the time we should be straight. … should have not been allowed right from where it started, but this is the kind of democracy we are in. If a loser sees that there was something unfair and unlawful they will petition. You can’t make a rule that don’t petition then let us therefore put it in the law of we don’t want petitions.”

She said the government was not looking to eliminate anyone.

“And honourable you can go to the point of this government of the UPND employing councillors so that we can replace them. This is the most unfair statement out of what you have said. Because this government does not want by-elections. That’s a fact, that’s a fact. You love to give evidence that indeed somebody was given a job in order for them to lose their seat. Ah very good that is evidence. It is your own interpretation, your own people apply for jobs when jobs are advertised. Do you know that we actually get upset if we had a way, no PF should be getting a job but what can we do… no councillor, no councillor should be getting a job! Maybe we should make a rule here that when you have stood and elected, don’t seek a job until you have run your term,” said Vice-President Nalumango. “But there is no such condition, so both UPND, PF councillors who apply for jobs and they qualify they are given jobs. If they were not given colleagues here they would have been saying you are not giving jobs to PF. You are segregating. You are discriminating. What is the problem? This is the situation. Handle your situation. We will do the right thing all the time. If you have seen something wrong with yourselves find a way, I don’t want to go too far, find a solution to keep your party strong. It has nothing to do with us. Councillors have a right to resign. They have a right to find jobs whether they are UPND or PF or whichever even independents. We are not enjoying that, but that’s the law. So we are not looking to eliminate anybody honourable. Let us work together. I could say a lot of things about you but that’s okay. Thank you.”