By Agness Changala-Katongo
UPND Nalikwanda member of Parliament Professor Geoffrey Lungwangwa has challenged his party to find out why councilors are resiging instead of insinuating that he had a hand in their decision to dictch the party.
On Monday, UPND secretary general Stephen Katuka said it was unfortunate that resignations of councilors were happening in Professor Lungwangwa’s Nalikwanda Constituency.
His remarks came after Daily Revelation revealed that six councilors were expected to resign from the party in Nalikwanda.
Reacting to the revelation, Katuka said although he did not have the evidence to implicate Professor Lungwangwa, it was very unfortunate that such happenings were taking place in his Constituency.
Speaking with Daily Revelation on his party’s concerns, Professor Lungwangwa said instead of accusing him, the party leadership should take steps to find out why it was happening that way.
Professor Lungwangwa described the insinuation that he might have a hand in the resignations of councillors as a total misconception and outrageous.
“So that’s total misconception you know, that is total misconception. You see accusing an MP of having a hand in the resignation of councilors I think is the most outrageous accusation one can ever make,” he said.
Prof Lungwangwa said the right thing to do especially if councilors were resigning in big numbers was for party officials to find out what was happening.
“What is expected is for the party to take a step, the officials of the party to take a step and for example this can be done by having meetings with councilors, counseling them, getting their concerns. Why are they resigning? What is their problem. What are the problems. For example such meetings can take place in the district, they can take place at provincial level and so on and so fourth,” Prof Lungwangwa said.
He also said he had no powers over the councilors as they were elected by peope in their respective wards and in their individual capacity.
“I have no powers over the councilors.They were elected by their people, in their respective wards, the councillors were elected by the political party officials, the councilors decided to be councilors in their individual capacities,” he said.
Prof Lungwangwa wondered why he should be accused of having a hand in the councilors resignations.
“How can an MP be accused of having a hand in the resignation of councilors?” He asked.
Professor Lungwangwa said since 2017, he had been advising councilors, after they had a first resignation, to continue with their work of serving the people, and now that they were resigning should not be blamed on him.
He said resignations come as a surprise as he heard about some of them in the media.
“When you try to find out and say look, what really has caused your resignation and they tell you my own personal concerns, my own personal development. What do you say as a person asking? You see, let’s take for example, the councilors who resigned in the two wards, I knew about it in the papers, I knew about it in the media. You see and I called them and by the time I called them, they were already outside their wards,” Prof Lungwangwa said.
He said councilors were not only resigning in Nalikwanda but other constituencies as well.
“And it’s not only in Nalikwanda where the councilors are resigning. They have been resigning and they are resigning in other districts as well. In other Constituencies as well. So the question becomes I think with this kind of resignations going on, the part authorities should take steps to find out what’s going on instead of accusing an MP,” Prof Lungwangwa said.
Asked on his relationship with the party, following his decision to support the Constitutional Amendment Bill 10 against his party’s directive, Prof Lungwangwa said he was only doing his work as MP in line with the Constitution of the land.
“I don’t think if an MP is doing his work, as per Constitution of the land, that it should raise problems,” said Lungwangwa. -Daily Revelation