FATHER Richard Luonde says neither PF nor Chishimba Kambwili will stop the UPND Alliance.
Fr Luonde, who is NDC national chairperson, says people can rubbish the alliance or scheme against it but it will go on and remove PF from power.
He says the alliance is meant for the good of the people rather than personal interests as some critics are insinuating.
“In politics it is all about good will for the majority Zambians who are the major stakeholders. They are just not major stakeholders but they also send politicians into political offices, hence the need to listen to their demands,” he said. “We have been with our colleague Dr Kambiwli for some time and we respect him. But whatever he says about the alliance will not stop us from proceeding; not even what PF or any other person says. Voters should be given the respect they deserve by listening to their demands. And forming an opposition alliance has been one of their major demands.”
He said the National Democratic Congress went into an alliance with the UPND because that is what people wanted.
Fr Luonde said no amount of insults or ridicule would dissuade them from proceeding with the alliance.
“We have many individual politicians who think that they know it all when in actual sense they know nothing. The UPND alliance means well for every Zambian and we shall proceed with it regardless of the insults and ridicule we receive from the PF and even some fellow opposition leaders,” Fr Luonde added. “Zambia no longer needs individualistic tyrannical leadership but collective and development-oriented leaders. The country needs team players, not egocentric leaders who cannot accept criticism even from within their own parties. This is what the alliance is bringing to Zambians which we are a part of as NDC. It is time to create a new Zambia full of love, honesty, humility, accountability and service to Zambians.”
And Fr Luonde said the alliance looked forward to the re-establishment of national unity.
He said the PF has destroyed national unity by promoting tribalism against the people of Southern Province.
“We as NDC in the alliance are looking to a recreation of Zambia as One Zambia One Nation as our forefathers wished it. And no one will stop us, not even comrade Kambwili,” said Fr Luonde. “The nation is fed up of icimwela politics which has left many Zambians in abject poverty.
When I joined NDC in July last year I paused a question to Dr Kambwili that if we could not compete alone in the 12th of August 2021 what would be the other route? Dr Kambwilis response was, ‘Fr, I know what you are thinking, I can never go back to PF. Our route is the alliance with UPND and other members of the alliance’ and I joined. The question is what has changed now?”