National Democratic Congress leader Chishimba Kambwili says he is ready to die in the course of preventing the Patriotic Front government from demolishing Kitwe’s Chisokone Market.

And Kambwili says he will go back to all the constituencies where the PF won the recently held local government by-elections to ask the voters if the ruling party has continued to give them chickens after the polls.

Meanwhile, Kambwili said all the properties and vehicles in PF’s possession will be seised just like the ruling party grabbed MMD vehicles on ground that it did not have an income generating business.

In an interview, Kambwili said the plan by the PF government to raze Chisokone market and build a modern market was state sponsored property grabbing because the owners of the shops had title for their properties.

Let me warn this government that let them stay away from Chisokone Market. Let them keep away from the marketeers at Chisokone market under the guise of building a modern market. You see, Chisokone market, the people who are there were allocated land they built individually. So those properties belong them, they have got title deeds for those property in Chisokone market,” Kambwili said.

“What it means is that if today government went and built a modern market, that market will belong to the government and those people will lose their property and start renting from government. Any reasonable government will not do that because it is like grabbing property that you gave the people, they sweated to build and you just want to go in an demolish and build a modern market.”

He observed that modern markets were too expensive for the marketeers to rent.

“And most of these modern markets that they are building are very expensive, as a result people fail to rent them, and the markets become a white elephant. So leave the people of Chisokone to do their humble business in their humble properties, if they want to build a modern market, let them find another site and build it there so that those who can afford can go and pay,” Kambwili argued.

“But I am repeating myself, stay away from chisokone. We are gong to fight tooth and nail over Chisokone and I am ready to die for those poor people. If they have run out of ideas, let them continue with their corruption both in elections and in the running of government. But leave the poor people of Chisokone to continue supporting their families from their humble structures.”

And Kambwili reiterated that he was going to wage a fierce campaign ahead of 2021 to make sure that the PF is kicked out of power.

“We shall give the PF a big run for their money. Whether they have the money or what, I am telling you PF will not win in 2021, come rain come sunshine. We are going to wage a campaign, telling the people of Zambia the truth through our issue based campaigns. We will show the people of Zambia what these criminals have done to the country. The only thing they do now is that they think they can buy the whole people. That is why even during nominations in Chilanga, they brought over 200 buses of people coming from Lusaka, Kafue; that shows you that they think money will do everything for them,” he observed.

“And where is PF getting the money to splash around like this? PF is not a business, I have said this before. All over a sudden where have they gotten the money? When PF came into power, they confiscated all the vehicles from MMD, saying MMD was not a business, they did not have any source of income to have all those vehicles. Today PF has bought vehicles for all the districts and all the constituencies, where have they gotten the money, because the only source of income that PF has is the K3,000 donated by MPs every month. They don’t have any business,” Kambwili said.

He said he would go back to the areas where PF won the recent elections to remind the voters that they were used.

“What is happening is money laundering being done by the party in power and we are all watching. They have created poverty and they want to use the same poverty to win an election. For instance, the people they gave chickens, bicycles in Kansunswa and other areas, are they still giving chickens today? They have stopped giving those things because the election is over,” said Kambwili.

“So you see, the PF winning those elections are a blessing in disguise for us to go back to the people and ask them, ‘is PF still giving you chickens today?’”