OPEN LETTER TO MY DEAR ELDER SISTER, HONOURABLE MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND BROADCASTING, MEMBER OF CENTRAL COMMITTEE AND INCUMBENT MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR PETAUKE CENTRAL CONSTITUENCY,*
Petauke 06.05.2021
It is with a heavy heart that I have been compelled to respond to your continued use of outdated, uncouthed and provocative politics of ancient days. The use of underhand methods of politicking through your divide and rule attributes is evident among your supporters our esteemed honourable minister, madam.
The days of hoodwinking people and use of deception plus character assassination of competitors in any democratic contest as a means of exhibiting supremacy are long gone. As a member of the highest decision making organ of the Patriotic Front party you should know better by now that the only acceptable competition of our day is that of ideas and not personal attacks. I honestly longed for a day when we could sit and share our aspirations and dreams for Petauke together, but now that I’m all alone, I just wish to tell you a few things.
I’m fully aware of your alleged fully sponsored re-energised smear campaign against me. You have suddenly mobilised both finances and material resources which you are using as a tool of enhancing the deception to capture unsuspecting youths and elderly men and women in the various wards around Petauke which you have physically visited so far with whom you parade and under duress make them read statements in English language which the majority don’t understand due to low literacy levels in Petauke. It is not their fault that they didn’t go far in their education but due to continued poor representation and lack of leadership which has failed bring even community schools to encourage people to learn. What saddens me the most is the fact that at times these people are lied to and given false impression that Jay-Jay is coming and when the excited and unsuspecting youths gather you show up with your same statements meant to discredit me purporting that the concocted messages of hate speeches were originated by them which are fashioned to denounce my candidature. The people are wooed to your meetings under the pretence that they’ll be empowered but upon arrival the agenda changes to discussing Jay-Jay which for me is a sign of high level desperation on your part. Allow the due process of the Central Committee to decide independent of your confusion.
Unfortunately you even have the guts to pay individuals to insult and speak against the village headmen all because they have opted to choose and support change. When you had their support nothing was bad about them except now that they have opted to align themselves with the new generation of practical politics of actions as opposed to words and promissory notes which they have experienced for far too long now.
It is so shameful that you have further gone ahead without shame have to talk ill of the program I initiated in 2016 to help bereaved families in Petauke irrespective of their political affiliation, religion, creed or ability with free transportation when they are faced with a funerals to various villages within and outside Petauke, an initiative which under normal circumstances you would have pounced on as area MP to support as it affects the very voters who ushered you into that political office. You could have been the one in the forefront of such a good initiative because it has served it’s purpose of ensuring that our families get to save the animals which were being slaughtered in order to facilitate for the movement of mourners as well as the corpses from the mortuary each time a family lost a loved one. It is a clear testimony in Petauke today that animals such as Goats, Cattle, Pigs, Sheep and Chickens have now multiplied in the last couple of years because the greatest enemy and animal killer disease which was funerals had been cushioned by this initiative. The trickle down effect of this great initiative has been that every household has been managing domestic food security upon recording a bumper harvest of various crops they cultivated using the saved animals. This for sure is an achievement worthy noting.
I have always been available to any productive projects meant to develop Petauke and right now my earth moving machines have been in the Constituency for sometime now and if I were you I would have called for a meeting so that we discuss how we could share the costs in order to cover a bigger area in terms of feeder road works within the Constituency.
Let me also remind you of the dynamics on the adoption process under the Patriotic Front party. The president is on record to have insisted on adoption of popular candidates only. I further guided that that the party will consult thoroughly the people on the ground in order to give them a sellable but popular candidate according to their wishes and to that effect, a precedent has been set in Muchinga Province where a good number of serving ministers and very senior officials of the party have been left out on account of being unpopular among the electorate on the ground and I’m convinced the case won’t be different with any other unpopular candidates. This should settle the anxiety and unnecessary pressure that anyone can put on the Central Committee because the selection will be meritoriously done on who’s commanding the response of the masses on the ground.
I cannot claim all you have done is nothing except that perhaps your time to leave the stage is now. I wish to commend you for all the achievements you may have recorded as Petauke Central member of Parliament and to that I say a huge congratulations. Otherwise, I harbour no hard feelings except in a democracy we must compete with ideas just like I have demonstrated what I’m capable of offering to Petauke even without being in a position of influence such as yours over the years.
In the few years of my political career I have come to appreciate the role the church has played both in counselling me and strengthening my faith which is what has kept me going. The church has instilled the fear of the Lord and respect for others and also the new and acceptable way of politicking through ideology and embracing of divergent views. I am convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that without the church the devil would have destroyed my career long before it could thrive and therefore wish to extend an invitation to you for a church service at the UCZ next Sunday where I’ll be joining congregants for the Sunday blessings.
I’ve grown so much since we last talked. It might be hard for you to believe, but I’m no longer the same person you left behind. I’ve done things that you would have never thought I was capable of doing. Sometimes they came to me as a surprise too, but thanks to God, I’m stronger. I know I can make it with God on my side.
Finally, I’m writing you all this because I strongly feel like we both deserve a clean slate. Even though things may get really ugly at the end, it’s important to remember we share great interest called Petauke. In a way, the people of Petauke have shaped both our lives and partially made us the people we are today. So next time you walk past me, maybe wave your hands at me. It’s nothing so hard really, but why not? We owe it to all the times we spent trying to keep the promise of a decent Petauke. My dear sister, let’s stop sabotaging the good in us all because of our egos.
I still owe and pledge my allegiance and loyalty to the leadership of His Excellency Dr. Edgar Chagwa Lungu and the Patriotic Front party.
I thank you and God bless 🙏
EJB See Less