PF deputy national chairperson Davies Chama says the UPND are so desperate that they are willing to wait to adopt the PF-rejected aspiring MPs for the forthcoming August 12 polls.

And Chama says members who will rush to join the UPND or stand as independents in the upcoming election would prove that they are not loyal members, a situation he claims will shorten their political life.

Commenting on UPND national spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa’s remarks that the UPND had abolished the rule, which only allowed those who had been members for two years to contest on the UPND ticket with new-comers being eligible, Chama argued that the UPND were content to get the “leftovers” from the PF.

He also doubted the UPND’s sincerity on when they changed their policy of recruiting new members to their party.

“They don’t have membership! They have a membership in a region because that is a regional party for your own information. That is why they are pretending that they want to change the policy. That is not true! Just go and see the records in the archives. They are desperate because they don’t have members, really, who are strong enough to win an election, and they are sensing an election loss on the 12th of August. So, that is why they are on the fence, just watch the space; those people who will not be adopted in PF, probably those who will be frustrated, those who are not patriotic to PF; those who do not mean well, some of our members who are not strong and they are waiting that some of the members, who will not be adopted, they are like vultures! So, when the lion hunts and they eat their meat, they leave the bones, then the hyenas and vultures descend on the carcass that has already been devoured by the lions. The PF is a lion, it is big in the game. So, they are waiting for the leftover of the carcass! That is what they will go for,” Chama said in an interview.

“We are not threatened, let me tell you most of our members are very patriotic and are very loyal to the party. But in a bigger family, you have one or two who will be sell-outs. It has shown for some time. For instance, ‘Big Mule’ (Davies Mulenga) was our member. When he was not adopted, he went to the other camp thinking that he was popular. Sometimes you think that you are popular within your own family, even when your wife and your children may not even vote for you. So, there are all kinds of people who think about their popularity in their heads. Sometimes that is the nature of politics. So, I can assure you that we are not threatened, PF is a big party, it is getting stronger and stronger by the day and we are very sure that we are going to win the election without any problems at all.”

And Chama, who is also Defence Minister, said that members who were going to rush to join the UPND or stand as independents would prove that they were not loyal members.

“They will just expose their insincerity that after all, they have not been loyal, they have not been strong members of the party. Because if you are not a strong member, whether you are adopted this year or not, you still stand in the party and wait for your time to come. It is not about being an MP, it is not about just being a mayor, it is not about just being a councillor, there are a lot of other things to do. There will be another chance for you to be a MP at another time. So, for those who wait, for those who are patient, they create a better name for themselves; next time around, they will be members of parliaments. Most of the people who are trying to contest are young people, so they have a long way to go. So, there is no need for them to be in a hurry that if you are not adopted today, then you have to leave a party to go to another party where you will not even be trusted, you will be looked at suspiciously. So, for you it’s better you stick where you have built a name for a long time,” Chama said.

“They say God’s time is the best, so, just be patient; if you are not adopted, there will be another chance that will come and you will be adopted. So, what is the fuss about to fight for 156 seats? If you are not picked from the 156, then you become so annoyed that you have to leave a family that you have been with for a long time to go to another political party? For me, that does not make sense at all. It shows that you have not been loyal all along, you have been pretending! Pretenders, God has a way of exposing them. So, those who are planning that if they are not adopted, they will either leave or stand as independent members of parliament, I think that is not the way to go. The Zambian people are also watching, the voters also watching, they want people who are sincere. Once you show that you cannot be trusted, I can assure you that your political life can be shortened. There are a lot of examples I can cite here. So, it is not about an individual it is about the party.”

Chama also said that the UPND were being insincere by indicating that they had changed their policy on the adoption of candidates.

“Are they sincere, really, if you follow their policy formulation? Of course, I don’t want to get involved with their internal matters. But we can only measure them with reality, the way they do things and their pronouncements. If they say they have changed the policy today, if they had a policy of ‘you had to be in good standing, you had to be a member for three years…’ Now just judge them in the recent past for their actions. Our deputy national mobilisation chairperson (Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba) just joined them and they made him running mate! So, is that true what they are saying today or the changed the policy maybe 10 years ago? Or they have never had a policy of membership within the party? Look, we had the Lukashya by-election, if you remember, perhaps they have a lapse in terms of memory, that is why they have so many inconsistencies. That is why the Zambia people cannot trust them. They don’t tell the truth! ‘Big Mule’ applied on the PF ticket, he was not adopted and immediately he became their member and they adopted him. They even started insulting! You know, God has a way of revealing your insincerity. So, they changed their policy a long time ago,” argued Chama.

“But I can rest assure you whatever they do, they are going to lose miserably. They are hallucinating, even attacking the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ). I can assure you that they will be running to the ConCourt on the 13th or 14th when the pronouncement of the elections are done by the Electoral Commission of Zambia.”