MMD President Felix Mutati says the partnership between his party and the ruling PF is meant to help steer the country away from the economic challenges the nation is currently facing.
Speaking in an interview, Mr Mutati said the push for the alliance was based on 4 key principles which he named as democracy, transparency, the rule of law and predictable governance.
He said the MMD was bringing to the table the experience, knowledge and the lessons they learnt from the mistakes they made during their time in office.
“What we bring to the table is experience, knowledge and lessons that we learnt from the mistakes we made. Our push in the alliance will be to tackle the challenges that are faced by Zambians in the area of debt management, in the area of energy crisis but much more important is that we will bring our experience to bear on how to tackle the challenges of unemployment particularly unemployment on the Copperbelt.
“One of the elements that we must not always forget is that politicians don’t create jobs, politicians only create the environment within which jobs can be created. The ones that create jobs are the private sector. In creating jobs we must address some of the ethos and challenges that the private sector actually faces particularly on the Copperbelt,” he said.
He explained the need for mining companies to extend business opportunities to the private sector so as to create jobs in the Copperbelt Province.
“Most of the private sector on the Copperbelt depend on the mining industry but what has basically happened is that they are being suffocated in terms of access to business in the sector so we need to have what you may call a bottle engagement with the mining sector to address the extension of business opportunities to the private sector,” he said.
He also said the country should address issues affecting SMEs who are the biggest employers.
“Today the financial sector is dry, it has no liquidity, how then does the private sector begin to create opportunity if they can’t borrow and if they are able to borrow it is at 40% interest rate but much more difficult is when you deal with SMEs who are the biggest employers across Zambia.
“SMEs tend to have from the micro finance and when they borrow from micro finance it’s at 60% so our experience as MMD is that if you pursue a monitory policy that is too tight like is being pursued today focusing on eliminating liquidity you are actually affecting the survival of the private sector so it’s those kinds of experiences that we want to bring to bear,” he said.
He further noted the need for sub contractors to equitably benefit from the infrastructure development taking place in the country.
“There is a lot infrastructure development taking place but our own people are not being equitably empowered because at the sub contractor level they are being under priced and consequently most of them are failing to deliver so we need to create an opportunity that these sub contractors who are predominantly Zambians can be able to survive,” he said.
Mutati has turned out to be a spineless opportunist character.
In your dreams Mutati. For the masses it is complete change we want. You backing a wrong horse.
Ricky;
I have more respect for people like Eric Chanda of 4th Rep Party than Mutati who is is a Yo-yo. Today he’s with UPND, the next day he’s in bed with PF. Principled men accept defeat and rally behind a chosen leader. Nevers Mumba had a huge mandate, but Mutati undermined Nevers and did everything to bring him down.
Khikikikiki…This is pretty interesting ba Feligo…lol….You have no idea yet, that the horse you are banking on to ride, died in 2015. The smell should be able to give you a signal the horse is a carcus in formaline shimwana!!!
Winston Churchill once said, “The biggest skill in politics is timing”
Am afraid Mr Mutati you are training to ride a dead horse
It is meant to improve the economy in my pocket, f00ls.
Will such leaders have liberated Zambian from colonialism? Mutati is in politics for his livelihood and nothing else. The guy has no brains to earn a living.
The PF and Edgar Lungu have repeated several times that the problem with the economy is global and not local. The MMD/PF partnership is local, how is it going to improve the economy?
@chinyama chami,
I am with you on this one. How is the alliance of Mutati’s MMD and PF going to improve the economy when the reasons for the Zambian economic downturn are beyond the borders of Zambia? PF has even failed to bring down the price of locally grown maize. Fixing the economy is not something that Zambians can manage. They are only good at pocketing state resources. Mutati is just after a ministerial job nothing else.
There is no partnership there ewe ngwele,just say your support for Lungu! Thought your appetite for cash was quenched when you unceremoniously left ZESCO.
How does MM joining PF improve the Economy? I never knew Mutati would belong to the amoeba species, now he has proved it.
Felix Mutati it is better to keep quiet if you have nothing worth to say. You are just practicing politics of the belly full stop.
WHEN FELIX SUPPORTED HH IN JAN 2015 BYE-ELECTIONS YOU SAME FELLOWS WERE SHOWERING HIM WITH PRAISE; WHAT HAS CHANGED?
The reason is that he was not saying the rubbish things he is saying now. He is now in the PF cobweb.
When he was supporting HH he was not an opportunist…these are double standards. Mutati should be commended for being quiet on his relationship with HH…others who have launched a smear campaign to discredit HH but Mutati has been magnanimous but the truth is that he could not work with HH and decided to back EL just like GBM can be considered a gold digger for backing HH at the expense of long serving loyal members of UPND.
Ba Mutati naimwe,,,,!! sometimes its better to just keep quiet,,kuibwelamo,,bola nipanshi….do you seriously think people cant see through you….you must be a very dull person if you cant!!..I feel sorry for you
What was the point of taking up the MMD leadership? To hand the party over officially?
It’s a shame for a respectable man to engage in illegality and still hopes to achieve the same level of respect. Muli kapuba ba Felix.
What Mutati is saying is: MMD (Corruption) + PF (Economic Mismanagement, Unbridled borrowing and lawlessness) = Economic Development for Zambia! Am still looking for the equation to prove the maths!
@LOL, you have really cracked my ribs…! Seriously though, when you have developed the equation please pass it on, should be a very useful tool in understanding ama politics yapa ZED.
Mutati has show Political Maturity and the very essence of such political alliances is to set up Synergy in such aspects ! It is silly for a Party to claim it is versatile in all areas and that you cant accept failure in some. Mutati we welcome you and we shall forever as PF be indebted to you. What has Mumba taken to UPND if I may ask ? Just endless requests for Diplomatic Service !
MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE. THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER! LUNGU IS A BIG LIABILITY FOR ZAMBIA. ANYONE WHO IS SUPPORTING FOR LUNGU TO RULE ZAMBIA AGAIN IS EQUALLY A BIG LIABILITY TO OUR COUNTRY. WHO HAS NOT SEEN CORRUPTION AND LOOTING IN PF GOVERNMENT? WHO HAS NOT WITNESSED EXTRAVAGANCE IN LUNGU AND HIS MINIONS? YET THIS JUDAS CALLED FELIX MUTATI WANTS TO DECEIVE US INTO THINKING THAT THESE SAME THIEVES WOULD TURN INTO ANGELS IF THEY ARE GIVEN ANOTHER MANDATE TO RULE. ABASH LUNGU! ABASH MUTATI! ABASH CORRUPTION AND NEPOTISM, TRIBALISM, AUSE OF POWER, LAWLESSNESS, SEGREGATIVE APPLICATION OF THE POA, AND ALL THE OTHER EVIL ACTS PERPETRATED BY CHAKOLWA LUNGU.
Felix has spoken sense after a long time. The theory he has explained is backed up with experience unlike what we hear from a privatisation kaponya. All he is dreaming about is to enrich himself once voted in govt.
I don’t know why i cannot shake the image of a theif running off with an empty bag stolen from a refuse dump…maybe its because i would give just as much attention to what such a theif would have to say about his find.
oh please save your breath…are you hoping to get a job as cabinet ministers. I have always said if a President had the best minister of finance and BOZ governor, it is pointless if the leader is like MCS who had no respect for technocrats. So Mutatai you are wasting your time PF is a party born on appeasing the masses, look at the way MCS undermined Luo on the issue of street vendors
Think twice imwe bapushi mu UPND. A man of Mutation’s calibre to just change position of support in just a years time speaks volumes about the leader of UPND. Don’t you see this or you just trying to turn a blind eye? It’s clear that things in UPND aren’t good as they may be portrayed to a few tribesmates and rejects from PF.
In short Mutation- has done a well thought postmortem and has concluded that HH is NOT A PRESIDENTIAL MATERIAL but just too desperate to gain personal milage. Am sure many Zambians see HH in that way. Just look at how he has been hijacked and killed the so called UPND. Read also what Chiti Mukulu writes about HH! HH will never be president of Zambia period!
Monkey iwe. what can you tell us?
Ba Mutati, you have a lot to do in order to recover your image, not after you played a “Lungu” on one Nervous…. Mouthing sweet nothings will no longer work for you!
This is the brother to the people that stole from the mines and became rich overnight. He stole also with RB now there is an opening to steal with Lungu.
Shameless politicians.
Since when did MMD think of developing the economy. They had 20 years in power and did not develop the economy but ripped it. The people in MMD today are the same ones in power 1991- 2011. This marriage between PF and MMD will cost PF votes- watch the space! Zambians have not forgotten MMD’s plunder. MMD-Mutati want to be near to the corridors of power for selfish reasons. If you are an opposition party worth the salt, battle it out in the opposition and convince Zambians to give you a second chance. Don’t insult Zambians!
Mutati says, they want to form alliance with PF in order to, quote: “Bring to the table lessons that they learnt from the mistakes they made”. I see, they want to share lessons with PF on how not to be caught in ZAMTROP. Mwanya, tamwakebe nakabili! PF watch out, how do you go to bed with an enemy of the people. The removal of MMD was a revolution against corruption. Zambians are not shortsighted.
Integrity is the most important attribute in any ones life. Its very evident that this has eluded you. Don’t change colors like a camellion. You supported HH for what you thought was a good cause. What has changed now? Politics of the belly!!
More detailed than empty 10 point illusions , not saying its the way to deal with our problems but at least there’s something to relate to.
If you are a supporter of the 10 points plan then, you either hate PF or you are a blind follower.
Now that UPND , PF and the socialists Rainbow have released the manifestos , can we relate to what these job seekers are floating as their ideaolgies