[By Chambwa Moonga in Nyimba]
DP president Harry Kalaba says with the fall of Bill 10, President Edgar Lungu’s third time presidential bid is in disarray.
He has rallied the people of Nyimba to vote for the Democratic Party (DP) next year.
Kalaba featured on a special interview programme on Valley Radio in Nyimba on Saturday afternoon.
He recalled that prior to the collapse of Bill 10 in Parliament, the DP told Zambians that the bill was problematic because: “it was advancing narrow interests.”
Kalaba indicated that the main thing that Bill 10 sought to amend was Article 52 of the current Constitution.
“If Bill 10 went through and Article 52 of the Republican Constitution amended, President Lungu would have contested again the presidency next year. He has already done two terms, yet he is now fighting for a third term. It shall not work! He is in problems now.” Kalaba said. “If Article 52 remains intact as it is, President Lungu will face a stern hurdle to contest next year. All progressive lawyers in this country will rise against his third term attempt – they will prevent him from filing in his nomination. Let me put it this way; with the fall of Bill 10, ba Lungu is now in problems because we shall not allow him to go for a third term. He has been elected twice and that’s it.”
He said Bill 10 was proposing that ministers should remain in office when Parliament is dissolved.
“And it was proposing giving more powers to the President,” Kalaba noted. “As the Democratic Party we are saying congratulations and well done to all those members of parliament who stood to be patriotic by siding with the majority Zambians, to reject Bill 10.”
He asserted that Bill 10 was designed to please President Lungu.
“But Zambians fervently rejected the damn bill and it’s now dead. We can now even start directing our energies on sensible issues than that unnecessary topic of Bill 10,” he said.
Meanwhile, Kalaba explained that Nyimba was supposed to be industrialised so that its produce did not go to waste.
“People grow a lot of bananas here in Nyimba and all you see are women selling bananas on the roadside in Nyimba. Is there an industry in Nyimba to process these plenty bananas into juice, jam, wine, yoghurt? The answer is no! A lot of groundnuts are produced in Nyimba, yet there is not even one industry that processes groundnuts into cooking oil. The cooking oil that is on sale in Nyimba comes from Tanzania, Malawi,” Kalaba regretted. “Actually, there should be out-grower schemes for the banana farmers so that they know where to sell their bananas. But all those plans are nowhere near to reality and no wonder people here are suffering year in, year out. When the DP forms government, Nyimba will benefit from its resources. Try the DP next year!”
He regretted the government’s failure to take advantage of the geographical proximity of Nyimba to Mozambique.
“The DP government will make sure that Nyimba benefits for being closer to Malawi and Mozambique. We need to provide competitive market for farmers here,” Kalaba said. “You can’t continue to tolerate a situation where when the President comes to Nyimba, he goes for holidaying at Nyamvu Lodge, yet many houses in Samora compound here in Nyimba have no access to electricity.”
He argued that Zambians should not have a leadership that is so concerned with partying, “yet the people of Nyimba are hardly surviving.”
“We should even change the name of this district from Nyimba to Vutika district. When I say we can develop Nyimba, I’m not saying these things for the sake of wanting to win an election next year. No! It’s possible that Nyimba can be industrialised,” said Kalaba. “If you want Nyimba to be opened up to development, go out and register as voters from 9 November to December 12 this year. Next year the people of Nyimba should vote for the DP.”