Kunda urges MMD members to work hard at all levels

Vice President, George Kunda, has called for unity and hard work in the ruling Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) if the ruling party is to win all the by-elections in the country.
However, Mr. Kunda says the MMD is ready to scoop the Kasiya ward seat in Livingstone Central Constituency.
Mr. Kunda said this at Livingstone International Airport when he arrived from Itezhi-Tezhi district where he had earlier gone for a campaign rally in a local government by-election to be held in Lubanda ward tomorrow.
He said the MMD leadership will now pay as much attention to local government elections as it does to parliamentary elections.

Mr. Kunda said the party had decided to pay attention the lower organ elections in order to identify the top leadership of the party with all its membership at the grassroots level.
He explained that this is in a bid to make the party much stronger and to foster unity within the MMD.

“We cannot be what we are without you, our members. That is why from now onwards, we will be coming to Southern Province very frequently to familiarize and work with our people who voted us into these positions,” he said.
The Vice President added that the move to visit the MMD grassroots membership was also meant to examine the strength of the recently formed PF-UPND pact against the ruling party at all levels.

“We want to test the strength of the so called pact. They lost the parliamentary by-election in Chitambo constituency and we are going to give them a good run for their money in Thursday’s Kasama by-election in Northern Province,” he said.
Mr. Kunda said the MMD has so far discovered that the opposition Patriotic Front (PF) and United Party for National Development (PF-UPND) pact was fragile and can easily break.
He was happy that the MMD was stronger and united in the Southern Province despite few internal misunderstandings.
He said Kasiya ward belonged to the MMD and therefore, the ruling party was going to retain it at all cost as Livingstone was the stronghold of the MMD in the province.

The Kasiya ward seat fell vacant following the appointment of the incumbent councillor, Mary Mukwiza’s (MMD), to the post of District Commissioner for Kazungula district.
Speaking earlier, Southern Province Minister, Daniel Munkombwe, said at the airport that the visit of Mr. Kunda to the province was meant to remind Zambians about the value of unity in the MMD.
Mr. Munkombwe said Zambians should not be worried about political alliances because pacts have always been there and failed because they lack political programmes.

“The PF/UPND political pact is an alliance of officials who are already tearing themselves apart,” he charged.
The vice president is accompanied by Agriculture Minister, Brian Chituwo, Labour Minister, Austin Liato and their Science and Technology counterparty, Gabriel Namulambe.
Energy Deputy Minister, Gladys Lundwe and her Local Government counterpart, Lwipa Puma, and other party and government officials are also on the vice president’s entourage.
Mr. Kunda is today expected to address a series of rallies in Kasiya constituency, where he is expected to explain government’s developmental programmes in Southern Province before returning to Lusaka.

[ZANIS]