PF Lusaka Province youth chairman Kelvin Kaunda has stepped down, barely a month after being appointed to that position, citing lack of leadership.
Kaunda confirmed this in an interview, adding that he had also resigned from the party.
“I have left the party, yes. I have with immediate effect stepped down as Lusaka Province youth chairman for obvious reasons, lack of leadership. Everything rises and falls on the basis of leadership. So there is no leadership in the party and so I have decided to step down. I am not satisfied that a position is what I need. I can still be a leader without a title but when there is absence of leadership, my position means nothing,” he said.
He said if the PF did not resolve its leadership crisis, there would be no party left in the coming weeks.
“In the absence of leadership, you can’t win an election when there is absence of leadership. I am sure you do remember that I am one of the advocates that we need a leader in the party to give us a sense of direction. So you cannot go on the entire year without a leader, all you have are acting presidents, what is acting? And you are going to be acting for so long? You are talking about rebranding, rebranding talks about image, so what image are you presenting? Even the children of Israel when they were going back to the promised land at least they had a leader in the name of Moses. So you are saying you are bouncing back, who are you bouncing back with? Those are the questions that people are asking. So we have taken a very bold decision that we don’t believe in titles, I don’t need to be a provincial chairman, all I need is progressive leadership in place for the party and be a member. But in the absence of progressive leadership titles means nothing,” Kaunda said.
“My word of advice to the PF and its entire leadership is that the issue of leadership and the succession issue must not be trivialized. If they do, they will do it at their own peril. It is a subject that they need to take very seriously and if they treat it with kid gloves there will be no PF to talk about in the next coming weeks.”
When asked what his next step would be, Kaunda said he was consulting on his next course of action.
“I am consulting the constituency, I am consulting the people of Zambia, I am consulting my colleagues and my family and I shall be able to inform the nation as to my next course of action,” said Kaunda.