PATRIOTIC Front national mobilization committee chairperson Richard Musukwa says he stopped party members from donating huge some of money in public because he doesn’t want publicity for the wrong reasons.
He was speaking when Copperbelt mobilisation chairman Bowman Lusambo paid a courtesy call on him, Saturday.
“Honourable chairman as member of parliament for Chililabobwe we want to tell you that we need your support in terms of assisting many of our people especially bus drivers, taxi drivers, marketeers and interest groups in terms of empowerment. Here in Chililabombwe we have actually structured an empowerment programme where we have had revolving funds that have been helping marketeers. For instance, if you have mothers at the market, if they were buying one box of tomatoes, how can we help them buy the boxes, five boxes. So what we did is that chair, we divided in the markets 10 people, they sit down, they tell us a business plan of what they want to do and then we empower them. We realised if you give people money they just share and they just go away and the following day you will still need to empower the same people,” Musukwa said.
“We don’t want to send wrong signals when we are giving people. I am sure that you have seen that I made the guidance a couple of days ago that we would like to see PF empowerment programmes to interests groups, churches, markets, bus drivers done in a structured manner so that we are not seen dispensing huge sums of money at different platforms. We promote unnecessary talk and we want to ensure that as we go to the elections, we don’t give our enemies a chance to speak of things that they cannot substantiate. That is why we want if we are doing an empowerment, we are able to make a commitment, we are going to empower you with so much and that money will be given in their proper structures. Even here, if I want to give you money for lunch, there is no need for me to start removing chunks of money, at the end of the day, we will pay quietly. I would like to reiterate that as PF we would like to run and operate a campaign which is issue based, clean and void of any forms of issues that bring our party in contempt.”
Musukwa said he did not want the party to attract bad publicity.
“I want to reiterate that I have stopped all forms of dispensing huge sums of money in public. At the church, there at the pulpit you, are counting 200s, you can tell them that we are going to give you this money for this material…You make them sign and they sign that they have received something. I don’t want our party to be in the public for the wrong reasons because what has happened, chairman, is that you have a lot of people and some of them have a lot of money but they can’t share with anyone. If they can’t share, that is not our problem. Let us not give chance to people to find room to condemn our party including bringing the name of the President into disrepute because people will not understand. That is why I have guided; let’s see a system of how to help our communities especially these vulnerable groups I elaborated in Chililabombwe,” Musukwa said.
Musukwa said there was need for the mobilisation team to ensure that President Edgar Lungu emerged victorious with a landslide victory.
“I want to place on record Mr chairman that Edgar Lungu will emerge victorious with a landslide victory. PF in general, from our councillors, members of parliament and the President, we don’t want you to leave anyone behind, we want you to turn all the tables. Both Copperbelt rural, Copperbelt urban, we want PF to win with a landslide victory. The road infrastructure is in a deplorable state especially township roads, I am sure you saw the Chingola-Chililabombwe roads which you came in. What is gratifying is that the President was here and he made serious assurance and the contractor has since started mobilizing. This is also the same with Kalulushi, Luanshya and Ndola, which were in the second phase in terms of road rehabilitation programme. We have done some commendable work in some districts, we couldn’t do everything at a go. People in Chililabombwe must be ensured that the contractor will be on site to rehabilitate the road,” Musukwa said.
“Our time and calendar is running out. I am sure that you have seen that ECZ has dispatched the electoral calendar and I want you with your team to go out there and mobilise our people. We have no time for differences. Now is the time we ask our people to begin mobilising other people in order to ensure that we win with a landslide victory. So, Bulldozer I want to see you bulldoze on the ground with our people across the Province.”
Meanwhile, Musukwa said government was committed to ensuring that financial issues with regards to the Konkola Copper Mines and Mopani were resolved.
“We still have the issues of Mopani, we still have the issues of KCM, we still have all these issues chairman which you have a lot of information. His Excellency wants to see that the Mopani issue is resolved, he wants to see that the KCM issue is resolved and from these issues we are so determined that nothing will stop us from ensuring that KCM is revived to the fortune of the people of Zambia. The commitment which we have put in, in terms of putting the two companies, will be done in record time in view of the agreements that we have made. We continue to respect the court process, we also have a duty to ensure that we encourage our people across. So as a government, we will abide by the court processes but our people must be sure that we will ensure that their monies, especially in the work of KCM, is paid. The liquidator is working around that area,” said Musukwa.
