KAPOCHE member of Parliament Dr Charles Banda said, there is no signal that Patriotic Front government is losing power next year.

In interview after touring some polling stations, Saturday, Dr Banda said PF would retain power and more convincingly than in 2016 because people had seen that its a government that came to transform Zambia.

“There is no doubt (that PF will win) I have been in politics for a long period. I was first the MP in 2001 and served different governments and I have been in public service and served under all the previous Presidents. When there is change, everybody knows there is change because it knocks at everyone’s mind, when there is change it is always on people’s lips and its not there now by far! It is not there. The Patriotic Front will retain power, in fact, it will be more convincing than it was in 2016 because now people have seen that this is the government that has come to transform Zambia and we are transforming Zambia as there are massive developments across Zambia. We have not left anybody behind both rural and urban” Dr Banda said.

On President Edgar Lungu’s eligibility, Dr Banda said the party was neither shaken nor afraid in anyway because they believed the Head of State would be on the ballot paper next year as a presidential candidate for the Patriotic Front.

He said those who were debating President Lungu’s eligibility were just doing that for the sake of politics.

“Zambians should learn to read. Issue of Edgar Lungu’s eligibility is just politics, the law is in public domain, it’s straight forward, even the courts have done it perfectly. 2016 constitution has a provision that states that when somebody takes over from someone and they run for not more than 3 years, they have not run for a term. So Lungu ran for 1 year 7 months that’s not a term. Even if others say he was sworn in twice, we are talking about a term, it’s now that he is going to run for a term. President Edgar Lungu is eligible and he is going to be on the ballot. I am not shaken because I know he will be on the ballot paper and he will be there. The law is very clear, let’s not play politics about it,” Dr Banda said.

Dr Banda, who is also Minister of Local Government, said the PF government was delivering on its pledges and promises made to the people such as roads, boreholes, clinics, mobile towers and roads.

He said in Kapoche constituency, 121 boreholes had been sunk, a situation he said had never been done in its history.

He said Kapoche had also seen community schools being built and supported as well as clinics.

“We have done 121 boreholes in 4 years, I stand to be corrected, there is nobody who has done that before,” he said.

On the voter registration exercise, he expressed happiness that the system was improving and a lot of people were flocking registration centres.

He said Sinda district had so far registered over 57,000 voters while Kapoche constituency had about 34,000 registered voters, which he said was exciting.

Dr Banda also took time to register as a voter at St Peter and Paul around 11:30 hours.

“The only way you can begin to participate in governance is to select whom you want to be a leader then you are part and parcel of the governance. Governance is all about those who select leaders and not those governing. When you reach a certain age, you must be part and parcel of those that select leaders,” Dr Banda said.

When asked if he is uncomfortable with some aspirants that had flocked the constituency for 2021 general elections, Dr Banda said he was not scared.

“I am not shaken by those cheap politics. I know we are dealing with novices, people who have never run for that office before. Time will come, now they are behaving like small cats where there is no noise, they hear their own footsteps. Have you ever heard a cat’s footsteps? A cat hears its own footsteps but when a bull comes behind, a cat gets puzzled and they scamper. Now I am talking about development which we have done and delivered to the people which has been fostered by president Edgar Lungu” said Dr Banda.

Dr Banda visited various polling stations in various wards were he distributed drinks and snacks and also empowered people with K10 each as he also encouraged ECZ officers to continue working hard and ensure a lot of people are attended to before the end of the exercise.

Dr Banda was accompanied by District youth chairperson Pingilani Banda, District party Secretary Best Mwanza and a party member Elias Phiri.