SUSPENDED Eastern Province PF chairperson Emmanuel J Banda, alias Jay Jay, says he will be contesting for the Petauke Central seat in next year’s general election because there is nothing the incumbent member of parliament, Dora Siliya, has done for residents in that area.

In an interview, Jay Jay expressed confidence that he was going to be adopted because he remained “the people’s choice.”

“I am standing in Petauke Central. If a person says, ‘there is massive development in Petauke,’ it means they are insulting the people of Petauke because there is literally nothing that has been done except when madam Siliya calls the youths, promises them empowerment, they just receive t-shirts, tangy drinks and biscuits! That is the development that has been done in Petauke. I am confident that the party is going to pick me because the President (Edgar Lungu) clearly said that he will pick people’s choice and as at now, I think I am the people’s choice. You can come to Petauke and get the clear picture, people are suffering! The roads are bad! Madam Siliya will also accept my decision the way we accepted her in 2015; she has served for 15 years. It is enough! The people of Petauke are tired, they want change. She has been rejected by the people,” argued Jay Jay.

“I am sure you have seen they have been trying to dent my image by associating me with violence, by accusing me that I held an unlawful procession when it is my right to meet the youths. But I am sure you have seen that I was acquitted by the courts. If you want, I can sponsor you to come to Petauke to interview the people, you will fail to use the road because they are in a bad state! We have three chiefs in the area, but all the roads to their palaces are impassable. When it comes to education, people are still covering 15 to 20 kilometres just to access schools, to access health facilities people are still covering long distances! At the Chipata turn-off, there is no health facility; if a person falls sick, they will have to wait for the following day to go to the clinic, so you can imagine the situation in the rural areas. There is no clean water, animals and residents are sharing the same water! Is that the development the people of Chipata want? No.”