OUR AIM IS TO MAKE SURE COPPERBELT IS 100 PERCENT PF – LUSAMBO…we are working well with structures and govt officers in CB
By Patson Chilemba
I have fitted in very well in PF, that’s why I was appointed as minister, says Lusaka Province minister Bowman Lusambo.
And Lusambo said the PF Copperbelt mobilisation is working very well with the structures and government officers in the Province, saying the target is to turn the Province into a 100 percent PF dominated area in three months, as well as targeting 800,000 votes in next year’s elections.
Speaking with Daily Revelation on PF central committee member and the party’s first ever member of parliament Emmanuel Mpankata, that Lusambo as a newcomer was behaving like a bulldozer and a monster by holding a rally while the Vice-President was in the area, the same thing which caused Christopher Kang’ombe and Binwell Mpundu to be suspended, Lusambo said he did not operate from without, saying he could not go somewhere and do things without the knowledge of the President, Vice-President and secretary general of the party.
On assertions that despite being a newcomer he was behaving like the owner of the party, Lusambo said he had fitted in well in the PF.
“That’s why I became a number one Patriotic Front MP on the Copperbelt Province in 2016 , it’s because of the way I have fitted in the party. That is the reason why they have given me even the extra position, and if I didn’t fitted well in the party I would have not been a minister,” he said.
Asked on observations that he should be suspended for holding a rally while Vice-President Inonge Wina and secretary general Davies Mwila were on the Copperbelt, the same grounds which were used to suspend Kang’ombe and Mpundu, whose suspensions have since been reversed, Lusambo said: “I don’t hold any party position and I am in MCC and I am not the president, I am not a vice-president neither the secretary general me I am just a member like any other member. So I can’t comment on that issue.”
Lusambo also dismissed assertions about there being an internal fight between the true greens and the lighter greens in the party, saying the party was united with all the members pulling in one direction.
And Lusambo said the Copperbelt mobilisation team, which he was heading, was not joking, saying Zambians must watch the space.
“Our aim is to make sure that Copperbelt is 100 percent PF in the next three months and we are on the ground, so next week we are in Ndola and it will be a huge meeting in Ndola. So for us we are working very well with the structure, we are working very well with government officers in the province,” Lusambo said, adding they were there to merely supplement on the works being done by others. “So we are not there to grab anybody’s position, we are there to supplement on their efforts. They are working very hard, Nathan Chanda and the team they are working very hard and we are there to supplement in their effort. So Copperbelt mobilsation we are not a pushover because we know what we want to achieve. What we want to achieve is 22 PF members of parliament in 2021.”
Lusambo continued.
“We want to make the President win the presidential elections just in Copperbelt province. If we can have the numbers up to 800,000 coming from Copperbelt definitely the President would have won from just Copperbelt Province. That is our goal,” said Lusambo, who refused to define his activities as campaigns. “We are not in a campaign period, what we are doing is we have gone back to the people. Remember that we are in government, we are a party in government and our responsibility number one is to go back to the people, and explain to the people the development which we are doing to them. We promised them that we are going to construct roads…hospitals, schools, health posts and many other things and also we told them that we are going to diversify from copper dependency into agriculture.”
Lusambo said his mobilisation efforts were about giving hope to the people, as there were challenges everywhere, including in the most developed world.
“Challenges are in Zambia as well. Challenges are in your family as well, yourself, your family from your grandfather up to where you are today you have been experiencing challenges in your family. Challenges it’s normal, but it’s just how you can ride over those challenges,” said Lusambo. “I can assure you that we have a President in State House who is ready to make sure that we uplift the living standards of our people in the Province. That’s why we have gone diversification so that we can change the mindsets of our people from copper.” -daily revelation