THE August polls are fast approaching and the political scene is a hive of activity, with aspiring candidates at presidential, parliamentary and council levels striving to sell their development plans to voters.

Milenge Council Chairperson Clement Mwila, who prides himself as one of the most educated civic leaders in the country, believes it is time for him to take his leadership to the next level, as he aspires to represent Milenge at parliamentary level.

He is a businessman who deals in money lending, sports equipment and logistics.

Mwila, an independent council chairperson, is among those seeking adoption under the UPND, having worked closely with the party and its structures for the last three years.

He shared with News Diggers! that he is currently pursuing a Masters of Finance and Accounting at the University of Zambia, in addition to his academic accolades.

“My full name is Clement Musonda Mumba Mwila. At primary school level, I attended schools in different areas, [that is] in Lusaka, Chipata and the Copperbelt. In high school, I was at Kabulonga Boys and partly at Chizongwe Technical School in Eastern Province. I completed school at Kabulonga Boys about 24 years ago. In terms of college, I was at ZCAS and Evelyn Hone. At Evelyn Hone, I did NATech, and I recall it was very tough. People used to take a long time to complete the qualification, which was called National Accounting Technician programme under ZICA. I remember it was very marketable in those days. I was the best-performing student at Evelyn Hone College in 2007, I broke the record of passing more than six courses in one sitting, and I don’t think anyone has broken that record to date,” he said.

“I did ACCA at ZCAS, and I also went on to do ZICA. Currently, I am [studying] with a named university in the USA in Sports Management, and I will be graduating soon. I am also pursuing a Masters of Finance and Accounting at the University of Zambia. I also hold an Advanced Diploma in Accounting and Finance, [which I obtained] way back in South Africa. I am a specialist in receivables and payables management. When it comes to academia, I am well equipped. I have also done short courses, I have done a bit of cyber law, forensic audit and prosecutor training. Education-wise, I think I’m safe to lead at national level. I have realised that education sometimes cannot make you rich but it upgrades your thinking, it upgrades your status, it does a lot. So I appreciate education and very soon you will hear that I’m Dr Mwila in Finance and Accounting”.

Mwila said despite his academic qualifications, he did not work long in the corporate world because he was passionate about community work.

“I have never fully practised as an accountant, and you need to understand that most of my friends are directors and they are doing very well. Some of them are Chief Financial Officers and CEOs. Mostly, I have been very interested in community work. The time that I spent in the corporate world is just too short, but by qualification, I think I am one of the most educated people among civic leaders,” he said.

Mwila narrated how he later moved to Milenge and saw the challenges in the district, adding that his passion to help communities could not let him just watch, so he chipped in.

“Now, in rural areas where I am in Milenge, people have been asking me how I started gaining ground. I went for a Zambia Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU) programme. I am a unionist as well, and I was a union president for a certain sector in the labour movement. I was supposed to go to one of the districts in Luapula Province in 2017. When I reached Serenje, I received a call from the then deputy SG, Mr [Elaston] Njovu, who told me to go to Milenge. When I got there, I saw gaps, I saw that children didn’t have sports attire. I was watching kids playing street football (Chimpombwa) and I was touched. I will be honest with you, I never had intentions of contesting, all I had was a passion to help the community. From that point, I saw that the road in Milenge was quite bad and there was no transport. I remember how many people I carried to and from. I saw those challenges and told myself to help out since I have buses,” Mwila narrated.

“I love helping people, and I engaged in various community activities in the area. I was so touched that I felt like I was part of that area, so my community work started from there. I can confirm today that no one in Milenge, especially among football and netball teams, can say they have never worn my jersey. Almost all the teams have received jerseys from me, it’s like a culture. From 2017 to date, I still give football jerseys every month. It’s a huge expense, but I love it. I feel fulfilled when somebody is doing great, especially when they are suffering. Other than that, I have registered many cooperatives since 2018 in Milenge when people started pushing me to say you can contest. I started registering cooperatives for women and youths. I have been a community worker, I love people, I just love them. That’s why I can safely say I am more comfortable doing this than practising accountancy”.

Mwila said he had also been helping children, students and churches in the area.

“Other than that, I help out with a lot of children when it comes to bursaries. Some of them are graduating this year as I’m talking to you. I’m not saying that I am the one who used to give them bursaries, but I used to help them in terms of logistics, what to do, how to apply. There are a number of students I have been helping under my office, Rockview [students]. And I can confirm that we’ve had a lot of youths and school leavers who are at Rockview, some of them have graduated. So for me, I feel complete like that because I know that education is the biggest equaliser. I also help with church building materials, and I have built a church called Shiloh in Milenge. I bought the land, engaged the church, we bought land and we started building. There are many SDA, Pentecostal churches and others that I have been helping out,” he said.

Asked why he decided to contest as MP after serving as Council Chairperson, Mwila said he felt Milenge didn’t have full representation at parliamentary level.

“I feel bad when I’m insulted and I get limited in doing certain things. I’ll be very honest with you and very candid, Milenge has not had full representation at parliamentary level. I’m not saying the current MP has not done anything, no. There is a difference between a Council Chairperson and an MP. An MP has a larger platform because you are known countrywide, you are in the National Assembly. Now I am at district level, so there are points where I get limited and, truth be told, [Mwansa] Mbulakulima, I think he wasn’t aggressive on the road, but on other activities, I’m grateful to him, he did a lot of developmental activities,” said Mwila.

“But the road in Milenge, the one which people cry for a lot, we as leaders need to speak so that we are heard, but I really feel nothing was done. On the west, there is the Milambo-Mansa Road, it’s an economic road. Farmers have a challenge transporting their produce. Then on the east, the Milenge-Ndola-Kapalala Road, it’s my dream to work on these two roads, and I know I will work on them. The current MP had been poor with communication, and in Parliament he hasn’t been aggressive. Of course, with CDF we have worked well with him, but in Parliament he hasn’t been lobbying for capital projects such as roads. In Milenge, the biggest issue is the road. People want a bituminous road, so if I become MP, the issue of the road in Milenge will be addressed because we will escalate it. The nation will know that the road is bad, therefore pushing government to work on it”.