In February, when President Lungu removed Felix Mutati from the position of Finance Minister, we wrote an editorial opinion, which annoyed the minister’s MMD faction as they accused us of trying create a rift between him and the Patriotic Front. Today, Mutati has finally been fired in a fashion that we accurately prophesied.
We want to hear, now, what Mr Raphael Nakacinda has to say about our opinion below, which we published on February 17, 2018:
Felix Mutati’s fall from grace is finally on course. It was bound to happen sooner or later. Like we said, it was not a matter of if, but when and how. In fact, the former Finance Minister should thank President Edgar Lungu for generously offering him a ladder on which to climb down. If the President had chosen to execute his eventual plan in one move, Mr IMF would not be returning to Parliament next week.
If Felix Mutati thinks this is just an ordinary reshuffle and that he can soon be elevated again, to the position of Vice-President or anywhere near the throne, then he is dangerously naïve because President Lungu is not that stupid.
This is the beginning of the downfall for Mutati. Soon his stint in PF will be over. He will be former minister, former MP and former Honourable; and that is when he will know Jesus. If he thinks we are hallucinating, let him watch the next move from the Great Leader of this Great Country.
But why is this happening to Mutati? Firstly, the relegated minister was too ambitious. He showed too much of his intentions to succeed President Lungu, and thought as a king-maker through the 2016 PF-MMD alliance, he had wielded enough political influence to call some shots in some way. That’s why he was sending his boys like Raphael Nakacinda to go about bragging that PF was nothing without Mutati. Just last week, Nakacinda had the audacity of going on ZNBC TV to boast that if an election was called, the Mutati-led MMD faction could stand alone and beat PF.
Secondly, Felix Mutati betrayed his brothers and sisters in MMD to pursue his selfish personal interest. After noticing that Nevers Mumba was hesitating to take up the immoral offer for partnership, Mutati hijacked the MMD and gave himself to the PF, leaving the Mumba-led faction in disarray. The PF gave Mutati some resources to mobilise youths who violently stormed the MMD secretariat and hounded out office bearers with stones and sticks.
But while all that was happening, we knew that Mutati was nothing but a pawn. He was used by Rupiah Banda, who also wanted to guarantee his freedom by ensuring that PF stays in power. Posterity is crawling towards Mutati now. He made his bed and soon he will come back to lie in it. When he is given the final kick out of government, that’s when he will tell us the truth about Zambia’s debt. Otherwise, Mutati’s job with the PF is done; his relevance has expired. That’s why he has been thrown in the trash bin waiting for the garbage collectors to pick him and take him back to the opposition where he belongs. Like they say, there is no honour among thieves.
Mutati’s chapter in PF is closed, but there is nothing to mourn about because he saw it coming. That is why he started campaigning openly while trying to drag former president Rupiah Banda out of the boat with him. Actually, what is funny now is that Mutati thinks this dismissal will give him the much-needed time to campaign ahead of 2021. What he doesn’t know is that he now has no political party; the MMD has slipped from his hands along with his government job.
Since Mr Mutati is naïve, we will spell it out for him. Considering that his intention is to take over the governance of this country from President Lungu, he can kiss the court case goodbye. This is operation: “Sink the MMD before it bounces back.”
We don’t celebrate other people’s misery, but in every sad situation, there are life lessons. Mutati has learnt his. He is now a graduate of the PF school of mafias. We wish him well in retirement and hoping he will give us enough news as he battles to remain relevant to the political scene. Good luck getting police permits for those MMD card renewal exercises.
With Mutati gone, the next question we must ask is; who is next? Oh, yes! Mutati is not the last one to go; this regime does not tolerate competition or political morality. All those ministers who are eyeing the Great Leader’s increased salary must start counting their days. All those who are disgusted by the corruption, brutality and disorder that is going on in the PF must also pack their bags and wait for the doorbell. It is not a matter of if; it is a matter of when and how!
