President Edgar Lungu says it is very difficult to take development to opposition strongholds because he does not have “special purpose vehicles” to do so.

And Chief Chibwika of North Western Province was yesterday delighted to receive President Lungu at his palace, saying it was the first time since 1971 for the chiefdom to be visited by a Head of State.

Speaking when he arrived at Solwezi airport, President Lungu, who was in the province to launch the farming season, confessed that it was hard to deliver development to opposition strongholds.

“In this country, the opposition doesn’t want to work with us. It is very difficult to work with the opposition because their political ideologies and philosophies do not allow them to work with the ruling party. I can give an example, that a few days ago I went to Kafue to go and help the people to keep the call of cleaning up our surroundings..When I went there, the mayor of the district received me and he pledged to work with us because good living, health is desirable by all of us, this is a UPND mayor. But what happened is that the party suspended him for three months because he welcomed me and pledged to work with me,” said President Lungu.

“So if you are predominantly with the opposition and you want me to bring development, I have no special purpose vehicle I can use to bring development to your area. From 2015 when I became President, I have been trying hard to bring development to this region. I have promised you that I will be trying.”

And Chief Chibwika of North Western Province was yesterday delighted to receive President Lungu at his palace, saying it was the first time since 1971 for the chiefdom to be visited by a Head of State.

Chief Chibwika said the fact that President Lungu could visit an opposition stronghold showed that he was a good man.

“The fact that you can come here, against all odds, to visit people who didn’t think much of you, shows what kind of a person you are. You all know that this has been predominantly an opposition area and because of that, we didn’t expect you to come here. Not many people voted for you here but you have demonstrated that you are willing to go across and help whoever needs help. And the event that you are going to launch today, which deals with agriculture, the mainstay of us rural dwellers, this is exactly what these people need. The battles that are fought in the urban areas are not the battles that are fought here. Our battles are about bread and butter and the food that we put on the table. And the event that you are launching today is about that. So you are a man that wants to see food on the table for the rural person and uplift their lives. It’s not about giving, it’s about teaching,” said Chief Chibwika.

“The insurmountable problems that we are facing today are not your making. There are past leaders that we had who forgot to build a clinic here, here are past leaders that we had, who forgot to build a secondary school and as you have now come onto this leadership, you are now trying to resolve these matters. The problems have become almost insurmountable but you are doing the best that you can. That’s why we are seeing you across the country and we believe our day is coming.”

In response, President Lungu thanked the traditional leader for the kind words and pledged to visit more chiefdoms.