OPPOSITION Citizens First (CF) leader Harry Kalaba has said the United Kwacha Alliance (UKA) is not about former President Edgar Lungu’s agenda to return to State House.
Earlier this month, a number of opposition parties among them, former ruling party Patriotic Front (PF) announced an alliance with the view of wrestling power from the United Party for National Development (UPND).
However, critics have branded UKA as a marriage of convenience with the sole purpose of pushing Edgar Lungu’s bid to return to power in 2026.
However, Mr Kalaba who is a member of the alliance has said people are mistaken to think UKA is about Mr Lungu.
“The mistake people are making is that this alliance thing, they think this about president Edgar Lungu they think, this is about the PF,” Mr Kalaba said when he appeared on Phoenix FM’s Let The People Talk.
Kalaba said UKA is the people’s agenda and had it been about the PF, he would not have joined them.
“If it was just about the PF, I would not have been part of it. This is beyond the PF and the detractors want to boil it down to say ‘it is a PF agenda’. It is not a PF agenda, it is a people’s agenda.
“We are not going to abandon the people’s agenda because the people we did not agree with in the past have also come on board,” Mr Kalaba said.
(Mwebantu, Wednesday, 21st February, 2024)
No, ba Kalaba. It is not a people’s agenda. It is a PF agenda. Whether you like it or not, of all the parties in the UKWA Alliance only Mr. Lungu’s PF faction has MPs. It is also by far the largest party in terms of membership numbers, probably representing 99% of the Aliance membership.
PF will be calling the shots ba Kalaba. Donot delude yourself that you are equal partners in this alliance. Imwe, muli inshindishi fye (you are mere escorts).
How can you ignore the fact that the current economic turmoil was birthed by the PF and decide to work with them?
If a human starts to work with a snake, the story will be about the snake
The perception that UKA is a PF agenda will continue as long as PF is in it, irrespective of Mr. Kalaba says. This will make the grouping hard to sell, given PF’s poor governance record.
Further to your point. Why did the other members of UKA form an alliance prior to Lungu’s return to politics? Kalaba is just waffling as he nothing of substance to say or offer. He was a bully as Minister. That is his only achievement
Kalaba will be the next best president of Zambia
On what basis bwana?
Uka will make kalaba more irrelevant on the political scene, lungu is the biggest tinted elephant in the room.
Uka is just a band of charlatans!!!
You don’t know how people on the ground have the liking of Lungu after the upnd have failed to to tick. People have the capacity to compare the two presidents and have made conclusions that Lungu is far better than the other one who is presently ruling. If UKA has to succeed, then they have to leverage on Lungu in 2026 who will rule only one term and transfer the mantle to who ever will be suitable amongst the rest in 2031. Otherwise, it will be very tough to dislodge the incumbent in 2026 if Lungu will be ignored in preference for any other candidate.
Kalaba is too dull to realize lungu is using this alliance to get back into the game of politics because his party the PF has been taken over by Kilometres sampa so he can’t use that route.