Movement for Multi Party Democracy (MMD) national Spokesperson for the Felix Mutati led faction, Rapheal Nakacinda says his party prepared the bed for the Patriotic Front (PF) and the two parties will lie in it together.

And Nakacinda says Mutati is not answerable to PF or the PF president but to the Republican President only.

Speaking in an interview with News Diggers! today, Nakacinda said MMD was an independent political party, and as such, nobody should criminalise the process of its mobilisation.

Nakacinda was reacting to the recent ‘Mutati must go’ campaigns which the PF has launched, on grounds that the finance minister was using government resources to mobilise his party with the aim of unseating the PF

“We are firmly in an alliance with the patriotic front, we are firmly in an alliance with them. They are our baddies, we are in bed with them, we prepared the bed and we are going to lie in this bed together with the Patriotic Front. Whether they wake up in the night and they complain that we are snoring more than them, that is not our business. We will still be able to discuss whether our snoring is disturbing them but we will still lie in the same bed,” Nakacinda said.

“So we are not ashamed to say that our contribution through honorable Mutati in the development of this country has been very positive and that we are proud of, whether the PF complain or not, that is not something that will shake us. Ours is to continue in the best way we can to improve the lives of Zambians.”

Asked if it was true that MMD had started mobilising its members in some parts of the country as alleged in the submitted petition by PF supporters, Nakacinda said his party was obliged to reorganising itself.

“When did that become an offense in our politics? MMD is an independent political party and we are obliged to reorganise ourselves and nobody should criminalise the process of mobilisation of our political party. Politics is about numbers. The only way MMD would be of value to this working relationship with the patriotic front is when we are bringing numbers and possibly increasing numbers. Now if we don’t conduct mobilisations, particularly in areas where PF is weak, surely does it need rocket science for somebody to appreciate that we need to work hand in hand to enhance the numbers that will help us secure victory in 2021?” he asked.

Nakacinda also said demands by PF supporters to have Mutati fired were being organised internally by the PF leadership.

“Those arguments can only be answered by the Patriotic Front. When we were discussing the possibility of working together throughout the elections, the MMD agreed to work together with the PF in order to achieve the 50%+1 and we campaigned collectively as a party. The end result was the victory of securing the 50%+1 votes. And after securing the victory, there was no fact that changed in terms of Mutati remaining the leader of the party. The fact remained that Mutati remained the MMD president. Even when he was appointed Minister of Finance, he was appointed not just as an individual but he was appointed also into consideration that MMD is in a working relationship with the Patriotic Front. So those facts have not changed. So if those facts are the issues they have an issue with, the people who are supposed to respond and provide guidance to their membership is the Patriotic Front,” Nakacinda said.

He said that whether the PF complained or not, his party would not be shaken.

“If MMD at this particular stage is not welcome and is not appreciated, and even the position of Mutati being in government is not appreciated by the PF, it is the PF who are suppose to deliberate that and be able to come up with a position. But for us as MMD, we supported President Edgar Chagwa Lungu and the PF in good faith and we believe that even the input and works that president Mutati has exhibited in government so far is positive, the dividends are there for everybody to see,” he added.

Nakachinda added that Mutati as Finance Minister was only answerable to President Lungu as the appointing authority.

“The appointing authority is not the Patriotic Front, the appointing authority is not even the Patriotic Front president, the appointing authority is the Republican President. He is the only one who has the prerogative as President to appoint any citizen. Mutati as Minister of Finance is answerable to the Republican President, he is not answerable not even to MMD, not even to PF, he is answerable to the Republican President and he swears oath to the Republican President, not to the PF president or Central Committee. And if it was President Lungu as Republican President who was carrying a placard in Cairo road saying ‘Mutati must go’ maybe we can worry. But if its other people whether its PF or MMD, that should not worry us, they are not the ones who appointed him,” said Nakachinda.