LUNTE PF member of parliament Mutotwe Kafwaya says former president Edgar Lungu is a democrat who never liked cadreism.

And Kafwaya says it’s not the right time to judge PF, arguing that Zambians should wait for UPND to rule for five years in order to make meaningful comparisons between the two parties.

In an interview, Kafwaya said Lungu had instructed his ministers to end cadreism.

“Cadreism was bad in many of its forms. I have to tell you, president Edgar Lungu never liked cadreism, he was a democrat. At one time, he instructed me, honourable Stephen Kampyongo and honourable Charles Banda to stop cadreism and I spoke about that on radio. We spoke about it but maybe we did not take the steps that we needed to really take. And it is good to see that President HH has managed to take the necessary steps. We should learn from our mistakes and refocus,” he said.

And Kafwaya said Zambians would remember some of the things which PF did while in government.

“Concerning people saying that we did all the bad things, I think yes it is a possibility if some of the things could have not been good enough but most of the things that PF did, Zambians will remember. And in a time of emotion like this, this is not the right time to judge. We have to wait for five years, we have to wait for ten years to come and make meaningful comparisons because there is no one to compare with,” he said.

Meanwhile, Kafwaya said both UPND and PF should ensure that political violence was stopped.

“There is always room for improvement whether you look at that from an organisational perspective or you look at it from an individual perspective. I think that this election should have taught us a lot of things. Let me remind you that (Jackson) Kungo died ruthlessly in North-Western Province, should another person die in 2026? Of course not! Both PF and UPND should learn that what happened to those PF cadres in Kanyama should not happen in 2026 or 2031. This political violence which UPND introduced should be stopped,” he said.

Kafwaya, who is the immediate past Transport and Communications Minister, said he was ready to work with the UPND government for developmental purposes.

“For me, I will work with the government because there is no development that I can be riding on. When I was an MP in PF, there was no development I could deliver anywhere without government, because even CDF, it’s government’s money. All these projects that are done in Lunte are done with government’s effort, so it has to continue. I don’t see any meaningful member of parliament who would not work with government. The UPND who are here now should be supported to deliver development. And by support, I don’t mean joining them, but supporting them in a manner that causes them to perform the best for the people because then all our children will benefit,” Kafwaya said.

“Where UPND does well, they should be supported, where they don’t do so well, they should be reminded. Where UPND made clear promises, they should be fulfilled. Even when they bring programmes, they must be critiqued in a very objective manner because at the end of the day, all leaders in this country whether you are in the opposition or ruling side of things, you are looking to ensure that the Zambian people are better off. So, we should look at programmes regardless of who is bringing them. From my end, UPND will get the very best support of my ability.”

Kafwaya said he would contribute to rebuilding PF so that it could get back in government.

“My personal efforts will be directed towards rebuilding PF. You see the Zambian people voted in PF, in 2011. They voted us out and voted for UPND [in 2021]. It is the Zambian people who will act again in future elections. My duty is to make a contribution to PF which will ensure that PF can be able to come back to the Executive side of government and consolidate the gains that whoever will be in government would have made. My view is that the country doesn’t stop because PF is out of the Executive side of government,” said Kafwaya.