President Edgar Lungu says there is a scheme by some members of parliament to manipulate intra-party elections to assure them of adoption in 2021 but it will not work.

And President Lungu says he will ignore opposition leaders who want to spread falsehoods to distract government.

Speaking upon arrival at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe international airport, Sunday, President Lungu warned that lazy MPs would not be readopted in 2021 despite their maneuvers.

“Let me talk about real issues, democracy in the Patriotic Front. When it comes to choosing [leaders], it is an opportunity to ensure that you sieve for yourselves and put those who can work for the country…the best party at the moment is PF and it will continue being PF by weeding out chaps and bringing out the best. The reason I am saying this, there are people who are plotting if they can engineer democracy, democracy is by the people. The roots decide. It is not by manipulation where you say ‘no, let us put this one so that they will vote for us to be adopted in 2021, it will never work,” President Lungu said.

“Even though there is a scheme by some ingenious characters in PF who want to position themselves for adoption in 2021 by manipulating the electoral process in the party, it won’t work. Just do your work and we will see that you were working and we will adopt you. So because of this, there are queries, quarrels, problems…by 2021 we will know who is going to be our leaders in all these constituencies. Stop lying to yourselves. Why I am saying this is because we have information that there are people who are declaring to be leaders by imposing themselves on the people, it will never work. You are just wasting your time.”

He insisted that no matter how many people the lazy MPs bought at lower organs of the party, they would not be readopted.

“To the MPs, just do your work. MPs on the Copperbelt just focus on your work and when 2021 comes, we will assess you and give you another mandate if you are deserving it. You buy four people, [you tell them], ‘please support me’, you buy six people, ‘support me’, kuti bami supporta but ikeisa luntika (they can support you but when the time comes, things will go south). Going forward as a political party, we will hold a central committee meeting in Lusaka soon, to review the outcomes of these elections that we have and also to demand that our election leaders, especially the MPs give us our mid-term reports on what they have done from the time we elected them. And I am sure by the time, Mr Speaker, the government is arranging the mid-term gratuities, we will assess you on your mid-term report on whether you deserve a second chance or not. And those who have done little, we will give them a yellow card and say ‘please pull up your socks…Because them they think they are above the party [but] no one is above the party. Not even Edgar Lungu is above the party. So you have heard, especially [here on the] Copperbelt because Copperbelt is where our power lies. So nga wanenuka ninshi (when you become lazy) you are out!” he warned.

And President Lungu said he would ignore opposition leaders who want to spread falsehoods to distract government.

“Minister you have already said that ignore them, I will ignore them. There is a propensity to elevate falsehood into a topic which becomes talk of the day, or talk of the week, or talk of the month…what they want is to distract us, thank you very much for alerting me,’ said President Lungu after Copperbelt Minister Japhen Mwakalombe told him that UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema had been in the province telling lies that ZAFFICO had been sold to the Chinese.