MATERO PF member of parliament Lloyd Kaziya says he is considering standing as an independent candidate in Matero Constituency as he is longer interested to stand on the PF ticket.
In an interview Kaziya said the PF government had let him down for failing to bring development in Matero.
“The constituency is fine and we are receiving a lot of intruders, we have so many aspiring [candidates] showing up now, which is a healthy thing. I am not interested in standing on the PF ticket. I am not interested in a marriage between myself and PF. I am willing to stand, I may go as independent if at all I weigh the situation. There are a lot of parties that are interested in me, but it is not the right time to begin to choose the party where I will go, but I will prefer going independent,” he said.
“What I have come to learn in politics is that it is not the MP that determines what needs to be developed. From my own experience, you can promise the people a lot of things but the way the government has let me down by not bringing development, how can you point at an MP to have failed? So my experience shows that it is not the MP that [brings development], you can lobby. Our job is to lobby for development, engage government in development, but its government itself which has the resources and if it does not come to the aid of any MP, then there is nothing you can do. You can bring in these small initiatives but look at a constituency like Matero, it is so big, the population is almost equivalent to North Western Province. The needs are many, you can’t go on promising people to say I am going to do this and that, as long as the government in power does not work with you and does not support you, you can promise people a mountain but at the end of the day who builds roads, who builds hospitals?”
Kaziya said PF members who were indicating that Kaziya had failed in Matero were indirectly stating that the PF government had failed.
“Besides that look at CDF which is supposed to be an annual allocation, you get that once in five years. Which constituency can you develop? We just have to be fair and honest to each other, I am one person, who is not going to do politics of deceit. At the end of the day it is the people who will look into us. Is this person genuine? Is this person a thief? Our lifestyle should actually speak for itself. It beats me when someone from the party says Kaziya has failed, it simply means that we have collectively failed as a party and as a government. You cannot apportion the blame on one person, that is being short sighted,” Kaziya said.
“If anyone of the members in PF says Kaziya has failed in Matero, it means that we have collectively failed as a party. You cannot apportion the blame on me. I don’t have the resource to develop, no one has the capacity as an individual MP to develop any Constituency. So, it beats me when someone says ‘we are only going to adopt those that have been hard working’, hardworking in which way? If we take for instance, the constituencies in Lusaka which constituency has developed more than Matero? It is only Kabwata. It is only Kabwata where they have taken roads because that is where senior civil servants live. Those of us in the remaining constituencies, I want you to point out what has been done in Mutendere? I want you to point out what has been done in Kanyama apart from government building police posts? I want someone to tell me what has happened in Mandevu, if there is any meaningful development that has happened.”
Kaziya added that he was being targeted by the PF because he was the only one speaking out on the lack of development.
“So you cannot be looking at individuals and say that they have failed, just because Kaziya speaks out and Jean Kapata cannot speak out, my colleague Lawrence cannot not speak out; I should be attacked now to say ‘he is a lazy one he can’t developed Matero’, honestly speaking I am just being fair here. I am making comparisons to other constituencies that have not developed like Matero hasn’t. So, let us do politics of maturity not politics of finger pointing to say ‘this one has failed’. We are all loyal at the end of the day, but if we speak out and say ‘I have not received the support from government, I have not received the support from the party’, then I should be viewed as an enemy,” said Kaziya.
“The truth of the matter is are we going to listen to people that are going to just speak and say I am going to bring this, when they don’t have the capacity? Look at Zingalume, I have been singing the song of Zingalume road, the road that passes through Kizito church and so many roads that are bad but they are concentrating on putting roads in Chalala, Kabwata. So, some of these things the majority of Zambians must see through the leadership and conclude to say is this MP being supported? Because even the opposition, they need to be supported in their constituencies. So, if they are going to pinpoint to say Kaziya has failed, what about these others? If they are going to apportion the blame, they should do it equitably and not pinpoint at someone who is speaking his mind. We must speak our minds to say ‘gentlemen we have not performed well’.”