SOME MISPLACED PRIORITIES AT THE UPND SECRETARIAT: PLEASE NOTE THAT MOST OF THE DEFECTIONS ARE NOT PRIORITIES, NOT EVEN WORTH CELEBRATING.
By Friday Kashiwa.
When the war in Ukraine is finally over and Ukraine comes out victorious, the first people President Zelenskyy will appreciate, thank, reward and honor are the Ukrainian forces, the Ukrainian foot soldiers and the Ukrainian people.
And NOT the Russians defectors.
And NOT the Aggressors.
And NOT the criminals.
Let those with ears in our UPND leadership hear.
One of the most shocking turn of events now is how our UPND leadership both at Secretariat and Provincial offices have suddenly developed the appetite of prioritizing the welcoming and celebrating questionable defectors into the party.
Celebrating and welcoming the former Aggressors of the UPND party.
And in the meantime our long and most trusted, dedicated and loyal cadres are being demonized and being called all sorts of names.
One of the most shocking justification being given by the leadership is that the party needs more members.
Indeed any political party needs a lot of members but those members should be dedicated and loyal and not political prostitutes and pretenders running away from or hiding and shielding their aggressions and other misdeeds committed in the previous regime.
Let those with ears in our UPND leadership hear.
If I were to be given an opportunity, I would advise the UPND Secretariat and Provincial leadership to respect the old members:
To respect our long dedicated Cadres as well as our already established lower and grassroot structures.
And NOT the respect being given to the elite defectors.
Party membership recruitment and any form of welcoming of defectors should always start from the lower structures, either at Branch, Ward or Constituency levels and NOT from the SECRETARIAT or Provincial levels.
We are belittling, disgracing and relegating our party super structure, the SECRETARIAT and sadly turning it into a den of welcoming disgraced and politically finished and diminished defectors.
Historically, the UPND founding father Anderson Kambela Mazoka respected the lower and grassroot structures. He himself started his political career and ambitions by standing as MMD Branch Chairman in Bauleni. The rest is history.
I personally joined UPND from the lower structure of Silwizya ward Northmead in March 1999 and only came to know the SECRETARIAT when I was elected as the first UPND Lusaka Central Constituency Treasurer in May 1999.
So we can do better as a SECRETARIAT of the party in Government than showing these signs and some semblance of misplaced priorities.
Friday Kashiwa.
Shiwangandu.