Former Patriotic Front (PF) Luanshya Member of Parliament Steve Chungu has said the PF should choose a party President who is known nationwide and can be easily sold to the people ahead of the 2026 General Elections.
And Mr. Chungu, the former PF Luanshya District Chairman, said the people of Zambia are looking for alternative leadership because the UPND Government has failed to meet their expectations.
The PF is preparing to choose a party President at a convention that is expected to be held in March next year.
PF presidential aspirants include Emmanuel Mwamba, Mutotwe Kafwaya, Emmanuel Mwamba, Chishimba Kambwili, Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba, Brian Mundubile and Greyford Monde.
These aspirants have already filed their nominations for the PF presidency before acting Secretary General Nixon Chilangwa.
Commenting on the race to the top PF position, Mr. Chungu said PF should pick a party President to help them give a message of hope again to the Zambian people.
He said the PF President should be able to give people confidence on matters of the economy, Christian values, job creation and investment.
“I just wish them (PF) well. I wish all the Presidential candidates the best and that the members should open their eyes and pick the best candidate amongst the eight. They should pick a party President to help them give a message of hope again to the Zambians people. They should also take advantage of the current government’s mistakes and unfulfilled promises if they are to make the Zambian people trust them again. They should talk about cadrelism never to show its face again, the violence never to show its face again, the corruption never to show its face again.”
“Those are the things people expected to hear and see even from the current government. But these things have again shown their ugly when people were trying to say oh now we have a messiah but people have started regretting now that they made a mistake by bringing the UPND. That is why people are looking back at PF. Had they UPND performed well in the last one year, the PF was going to be finished now because the UPND has also failed to perform to the expectations of the people, that is why the people of Zambia are looking for another option. The Zambian people have decided to look for another option,” Mr. Chungu said.
“I have talked about someone who is going to give the Zambian people hope in all aspects. One, the economy, Christian values, job creation, investment, somebody who is going to give the Zambian people hope that there will be more money in people’s pockets again because there is no money in circulation right now. There is absolutely nothing. That is why you have even seen the artificial drop of the American dollar or the foreign currencies that are artificial because there is less money in circulation. So there is no competition for the foreign exchange. The gaining of the Kwacha is not there to stay, it is going to crush, the Kwacha is going to crush very soon,” he said.
Mr. Chungu, who resigned from PF last year, declined to reveal his preferred candidate for the PF presidential race.
“I wouldn’t want to get involved at this point in the matter of who is the best candidate. Those are internal politics of political parties and individuals who are vying for these positions. I think for these individuals to seek that position I think they have got all the confidence to win. But I have said we need somebody to give us hope. Yes the party President must be sealable with a national appeal and with those other factors I earlier mentioned. They should give us hope because we have lost hope in UPND. We have lost it,” Mr. Chungu said.