Patriotic Front (PF) Disciplinary Committee Chairperson Brian Mundubile says nothing will cause the party to crumble and President Edgar Lungu will take the day in 2021.
And Mundubile says constitutional lawyer John Sangwaās should clearly state if he is a politician or a lawyer so that people know how to debate with him.
On Tuesday, Sangwa said going by the slim margin by which President Lungu won the 2016 election, his chances of victory in 2021 were nil.
Reacting to this, and Sangwa’s other remarks against Bill 10 in an interview, Mundubile wondered whether the State Counsel was a politician.
āIf John Sangwa is a politician, let him tell us. If he is arguing as a lawyer, let him also be very clear so that we know how to debate with him because clearly, in one place, he wants to be a politician and in another place, he wants to be a lawyer. He wants to be everything. You canāt say āPresident Lunguās chances of winning are nil because the past election results were narrow.ā For instance, if you look at UPND strongholds, the voter turnout in their stronghold was above 50 per cent, the voter turnout in our stronghold was 34 per cent. So, on account of the voter turnout alone, imagine that we improved our voter turnout by 10 per cent,ā Mundubile said.
He said there is nothing that had happened to cause PF strongholds to crumble.
āQuite frankly, there is nothing that happened that will cause the PF stronghold to crumble. The strength of a political party is measured through by-elections. So do an analysis. There have been by-elections in Western Province, North Western Province and Northern Province. Yes, they claimed one ward from us but how many wards have we gotten in North Western Province, in Western Province and parliamentary seats over the past few years? So, for Sangwa, let him analyze all these things and understand how they go. It is not just about sitting on the table and then begin to throw numbers and ideas. Thatās desktop analysis. This is real. Politics is real,ā Mundubile said.
Mundubile said he was optimistic that President Lungu would carry the day in 2021.
āWe are very sure that President Lungu is going to take the day. He will win the elections. What UPND hasnāt done is they have failed to marshal the manifesto. President [Michael] Sata before he took over power from MMD, he put a very strong manifesto that he sold to the people and the people realized that he was an alternative government. The people of Zambia now know when UPND comes up with what they call their manifesto for instance, people can read through. We had a budget that was presented to parliament and UPND had an alternative budget which we tore apart. And people can see that these are people who have been calling themselves economic managers but they canāt support their claims,ā he said.
Meanwhile, Mundubile said Bill 10 was still in its original form.
āWe need to educate a lot of people on the parliamentary processes. Sometimes we feel sad when people are contributing on matters that they donāt understand about. When a Bill is presented, Mr Speaker refers it to a standing committee or a select committee. All Bills that come are referred to a committee. And the reason why they are referred to committees is that parliament should invite people who are likely to be impacted by this law if enacted to speak to this law. And the committee now comes up with a report and recommendations to be debated on the floor of the House together with the Bill. So, yes the Bill is as it was presented. The Bill doesnāt change. It only changes on the floor of the House. Bill 10 as it was presented on 2nd August will come like that on the floor of the House,ā Mundubile explained.
āBut in this case, it (Bill 10) will not be debated in isolation. It will be debated in consultation or taking into account the report of the committee. So the MPs themselves will make a decision on the floor of the House depending on the persuasions that have happened with the people to accept the recommendation from the committee. Now, people who havenāt been to parliament are making these very serious comments about parliamentary procedure without wanting to study it. Nobody said Bill 10 has changed. You canāt change it outside the floor of the House.ā
Mundubile also said people could boo MPs at forums but they should bear in mind that parliamentarians are the ones with the power to change the law.
āItās only parliament that is mandated to change the law. What many people think, [just because] they are Constitutional lawyers, they have no power to change the law. So people want a process where because they sat together as CSOs or NGOs, they say āletās change.ā Thatās not their job. Thatās the job of parliamentarians. It doesnāt matter what people say outside parliament or on radios or TVs [but] itās what the MPs will decide on that day on the floor of the House. They are the only ones with the power. All these experts have no power. Forget about all those debates [which] people are organizing to try and boo an MP, you can boo him at Intercontinental but he is the one with the power on the floor of the House. He will go and change the law on the Floor of the House,ā said Mundubile.
āDonāt allow people to just speak as they wish. If he is saying that through this constitution, the president wants to claim back the power, which clause is he referring to? We have a lot of people that call themselves Constitutional lawyers [and] they think they posess the domain of wisdom but we all can read and write. We are all lawyers and went to the same law school. And especially for him (Sangwa), when he was given a chance to debate, he spoke as an economist. He didnāt speak as a lawyer on that platform. Zambians should not be fooled. John Sangwa went to court and he lost a case because the court couldnāt sustain the argument. They realized that these are people who were just dreaming and casting aspersions from things which they didnāt even understand.ā
And Mundubile said the PF had dominated campaigns on Chilubi Island because the area was the partyās stronghold, expressing confidence of scooping the seat.
āCampaigns are progressing very well. We are clearly dominating the campaigns. Our friends are not even visible on the ground because of course itās a PF stronghold and the support is immense. We are not taking anything for granted but we are very confident that we will carry the day,ā said Mundubile.
5 responses
Iwe Mundubile, out of all 18 million Zambians, you think you are the only bright fellow and all of us are fools!
The question you are posing is irrelevant as Sangwa is old enough to decide to be both if he likes. We hv seen many prominent Lawyers who are both, even though they may not put their positions in writing. The Bottom Line is that ZAMBIANS HAVE SAID NO TO YOUR LIES & SUGAR COATING AND HAVE PUT A STOP TO YOUR FOOLISHLY IMPOSED BILL#10
Opinions are not only reserved for politicians Bwana.
The PF want to dictate to us how we should debate issues. What’s wrong with Sangwa’s well thought out comments regarding bill 10 and Lungu’s electability in 2021? Is it politicians alone now who should discuss issues affecting all Zambians? This Mundubile should put the country before his party. Why is his team so desperate to push bill 10 through? How about tabling it after the 2021 elections?
Mundubile aluba ngeshina lyakwe. He is still leaving in the past glory
PF you have disappointed the majority Zambians, that’s why a lot of people have negative sentiments towards the PF. Just the depreciation of the Kwacha against foreign currencies tells a lot about our economy. 2021 we’re voting you out. You can’t fight the majority. You have shown yourselves an exit.