We will be a lot more grateful if Raphael Nakacinda invests his energies, creativity and agility in rebuilding the party, says MMD faction leader Felix Mutati.

Speaking in Mbala where he attended the Centenary celebrations to mark the end of World War I, Mutati described Nakacinda, who President Edgar Lungu recently nominated as member of parliament, as a gallant soldier who had worked tirelessly to improve the fortunes of the party.

Mutati, however, said he would be a lot more grateful if Nakacinda focused his energy on rebuilding the party.

“Our national secretary has been a gallant soldier. He has been a fighter and courageous and has been able to move the party quite aggressively in the face of many challenges and the battering that the party has endured thus far. The expectation of the members of the MMD is that the spirit of Mr Nakacinda, the vigour, the agility in them is dispatched in terms of what he has done for the party and will continue to be demanded of him going forward. We are grateful for the nomination of Mr Nakacinda but we will be a lot more grateful that he invests his energies, creativity and agility to rebuilding the party to making sure that the relevance of the party is not only elevated, but becomes the party that the party was once known for in 1991,” said Mutati.

“It is quite evident that the MMD is on the move. Our membership has been seized with the spirit of hope and renewal and clearly, a signal has been sent that the party has been re-energized. The card renewals that we have conducted provide the evidence that the numbers of the party are getting bigger and bigger. What we need as a party is to continue to hold together and move together and be anchored on the values and principles of our party. The values and principles that places national interest, at the forefront and that the people of Zambia are the ones that matter and we have always subordinated our interest as a party to the people of Zambia first,” he said.”