Friday, March 29, 2024

PF SG backs anti Mutati protests as Finance Minister is poised to dump MMD

Share

Kabwe PF protesting against Mutati
Kabwe PF protesting against Mutati

Ruling Patriotic Front Secretary General Davies Mwila says he would be comfortable having Finance Minister Felix Mutati as a full time PF member and not as MMD President.

And senior State House sources have revealed that Mr Mutati is likely to dump the MMD and concentrate on to his ministerial position.

Mr Mwila who yesterday presented to President Edgar Lungu, the petition by party cadres to have Mr Mutati resign his ministerial position or relinquish his MMD presidency said the protests have merit.

He said the PF would prefer ‘owning’ Mr Mutati full time than having him continue doubling as MMD President.

Mr Mwila this week received anti Mutati petition from several structures of the PF and he presented the petition to President Lungu on Wednesday morning at State House.

The cadres are accusing Mr Mutati of mobilizing the MMD and positioning to challenge President Lungu in the 2021 general elections.

Mr Mwila said the protests by the cadres are justified as they only want him to choose and belong to only one political party.

“We received a petition from Eastern province, and I know there is another one in Central province. I will take all these petitions to the President,” Mr Mwila said.

And some highly placed sources at State House have revealed that Mr Mutati is likely to dump the MMD and hold on to his ministerial position.

The sources also confirmed that the anti Mutati petition was presented to President Lungu at State House on Wednesday shortly after cabinet sitting.

They said Mr Mutati was not in the meeting when the petition was tabled as he had left by then.

The sources said President Lungu is also keen on having Mr Mutati quit the MMD and focus on his Ministry of Finance portfolio.

They said that a plan to absorb all MMD structures into the PF has already been devised if Mr Mutati decides to dump the MMD.

More anti Mutati materials being printed at some printing company in Lusaka
More anti Mutati materials being printed at some printing company in Lusaka
Northern Province protesting against Mutati
Northern Province protesting against Mutati

66 COMMENTS

  1. It had the blessing of state house no one can argue that one. So now what happens to the MMD faction, will the Doc Mumba be happy now?

    • I don’t like where this will end up.

      Uncomfortable I’m honestly. We seem to pick up fights be it internally or externally. I’m scratching my head.

      Thanks

      BB2014,2016

    • What has backfired in this instance is Mutati’s claim that he is the MMD president.

      Maybe he should say what we have already known. The MMD legally and as per MMD constitution was never him to start with.

      I have a PhD

      Thanks

      BB2014,2016

    • WHAT AN AWKWARD SITUATION MUTATI’S POSITION CAN GET
      =======================================
      In the first place, I think Mutati is some brilliant kid. He knows the job and I think he may be doing it the right way. Maybe second to late Penza, I don’t know. But he has some brains for the job.
      Secondly, from the word go, I did not understand the details of the MMD-PF collabo terms and interests entirely. Whether it was just to beat the h.e.l.l outa NSM and UPND or not. Perhaps people have misconception about the unity that did not become formal but makeshift, that aside, PF may be scared of Mutati’s MMD. Yes Mutati rightly so has interest in MMD. Whereas PF may honestly express the need to have Mutati with them remember that MMD is not Mutati alone. This is pretty nasty but I think…


    • with upright thinking, MMD and PF can fix this. Just kindly maintain Mutati. Maintain the collabo. Be mindful also that it is in UPND’s interest to break this collabo apart. I want Mutati as MMD president within the PF circles. This is the point CK failed to connect, that Kalusa would be president if this collabo did not exist in the first place. He is such a dude. FM can make us a brilliant President beyond 2026. He is smarter than HH.
      Watch CK out too. He may be planning the down fall of PF-MMD informal pact.

    • @ Thorn in the flesh, the best Finance Minister we have ever had is Ng’andu Magande. Mutati is just LOUD mouth and these PF guys have put him in his rightful place

    • Mushota your construction of English words and grammar is dodgy – what is wrong with your sentence? I quote “The MMD legally and as per MMD constitution was never him to start with.” And you have 4 other errors in that paragraph. Please ask Nick to edit before you post anything!

    • Mutati is NOT MMD.Infact it’s beneficial to Mutati at personal level to now just officially join PF.Because as legally things stand now in MMD,Mutati has NO strong legal basis to hold on to the faction MMD as an expelled member which even the High Court upheld.He appealed to Supreme Court,which he later on withdrew.So really Mutati may find himself in political wilderness if he is not decisive enough to just join PF.At least he will have something to hold on to as an individual rather than lose both Ministerial and illegal mmd faction leadership.

  2. Well organised protests. Someone is behind these protests – someone big. Why are these protests getting stronger by the day. Never mind Mutati is also a lousy guy. You cannot serve two masters at a time. But Mutati has been MMD president ever since he was appointed minister by the president. What has changed now. I am confused with these funny politics.
    Let hime go its long overdue!

    • The only reason they want him out is because he is more prudent (based on PF standard) he is not reckless as uncle Chikanda…they want to sell money hence the top brace organising these protests!!

    • I have said it before, the other reason why they want him out is calculated move based on improved economic forecasts for Zambia. PF want to use that to their own benefit during 2021 and do not want Mutati MMMD faction to use that as their achievement.
      Calls for Mutati him to resign were just camouflage for calling him to join PF. They know if Mutati contest next year he could dilute ECL votes.
      PF is already in 2021 campaign mode.

    • As for me, l don’t understand this gist of this strategy because l think mutati is a bigger threat if he takes up PF membership than if he remains MMD. Come on, an MMD candidate can’t get more than 1 vote (his own) in any election. On the other hand, the northern clique (not those paid up carders) is actively looking for a leader to rally behind and mutati fits that criteria and can easily put up a good fight for the top seat. So unless PF want mutati inside PF just so that they can stifle his ambitions, this strategy could backfire terribly. Me thinks

  3. PF want Mutati to become their president. I Think this is a bad move. Mutati has intentions of becoming a president and as such, he should be very careful because he would lose his ministerial position and membership from MMD at the same time.

    Trick one though!

  4. Oh lets not crucify Mutati while ignoring our very own hypocrisy ba PF, your own ministers are also divided between serving party and state functions too.

  5. lol, people surprise me alot. we are not children well atleast some of us. we see everything playing out in the background. mutati is the nest pf president and candidate should the 2021 bid by edgar fail.

  6. NOW after USING MMD to win 2016 they are USELESS, EVEN made MMD NOT TO FEATURE presidential candidate and some hard core MMD MPS like NICHOLAS BANDA lost their seats because of this confusion, mutati must choose to be in PF and challenge ECL in 2021

  7. Comedians at work!!!

    It looks that the members of PF “intelligentsia”, headed by SG Mwila (whose IQ probably match the size of his shoes), have come very short in theirs “analysis”:
    1. Mr. Mutati has been open in his ambition to become President of the Republic. As a mater of fact, he made that ambition public way back in 2009 (after premature death of siting president);
    2. Keeping Mr. Mutati as an outsider within Government has two advantages going in to next election (specially if ECL decide to stand as presidential candidate):
    (a) Even if Mr. Mutati stands as presidential candidate of “his” MMD faction, any vote cast for him will be at the “cost” of real opposition (HH);
    (b) There can be possibility of the “coalition” Government PF/MMD headed by ECL;
    (c)…

    • (c) Forcing Mr. Mutati to join PF will dilute his presumed popularity and thus irreparably damage possibility of above (a) and (b);
      3. Is Mr. Mutati willing to be VP to ECL? and
      4. If Mr. Mutati joins PF, what about his aspiration to Presidency?

  8. Whether Mutati dumps MMD or not, the writing is clear on the wall. He might stay on as Minister of Finance for a while but honestly the fact will remain that he has Presidential ambitions and the cadres will certainly deal with him in due course. His loyalty to President Lungu is questionable as he has only decided to be PF under pressure, it is written that you cannot serve two masters at one time, you love one and despise the other and for the past one year Mutati has shown his love for the defunct MMD and despised PF. To PF members Mutati is chameleon as Pillato as sung today he is blue, tomorrow green but his Presidential ambitions remain intact. President Lungu should be careful with his Ministers who only show loyalty under pressure, NIBOZA CHABE.

  9. Petty Politics without addressing development issues is a recipe for failure! If the likes of Mutati and Dora remain in PF we will lose the 2021 elections! Remember I’ve said it here! Just wait and see! The PF I knew has changed from a Party of the people to what is becoming something else! The Late Great MCS would not be happy with this. Do you know Mutati? Just watch the BBC documentary “When China met Zambia” on youtube you’ll see Mutati and open defecator Chief Mukuni during RB’s term. These are insensitive people- Dora has destroyed farmers with this fake maize price and Mutati with his war on small businesses.

  10. BUUUTTTTT!!!!!! Mu zambia there is a problem, politically and mentally.Surely someone who is bringing the economy back to its youth is being frastrated by the so called PF youths and there finacians.
    Mutati is an employee of the goverment and runs his political party.So what is wrong that.
    Am being frastrated as well. If i had money i would have left this country and applied for citizernship elsewhere where there is sanity.Even the PF SG is in support? Mr. Mutati, just resign if thats what they want and shame them. God bless you Mr. finance minister.

    • You don’t need lots of money to get out of that rat hole. You just need skills that are in demand overseas, or better still, if you know how to make money without depending on a job.

  11. Is Mutati a leader or bootlicker/opportunist?
    Now it’s clear why ECL has been silent on this matter, the whole act was engineered. This is wrong for the Zambian politics, but as usual, PF cadres here will obviously support this move. DUNG !!!

  12. I Feel Sorry for Ma bo Ynonge , He is being filtered thru these fake Demos to take over from you . I understand it has been the intention of our PARTY to have a Veep from Muchinga . Why should Lungu allow it any way ! ?

  13. The real reason to force Mutati to join PF and retain his post as Minister of Finance is money. Mutati will now be told to do and fund PF activities and operations like Alex Chikwanda used to do. Under a PF Mutati, Lungu and PF will have free access to the Treasury Coffers. Mutati has realised that if u live in a Den of thieves u have to become a Thief. “If u cant beat them. Join them”. Thats what Mutati and RB are doing to enjoy the full benefits of the PF Gravy Train. With IMF Money coming the timing of this Mutation is perfect. Cry our beloved Zambia.

  14. THESE PF CADRES ARE MISGUIDED. PRESIDENT LUNGU APPOINTED MUTATI AS FINANCE MINISTER WHEN ALL OF THEM KNEW THAT HE WAS MMD PARTY PRESIDENT. THERE WAS NO AGREEMENT THEN NOR NOW THAT HE HAS TO RELINQUSH HIS POSITION IN MMD. EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN AND ACCEPTED THAT HE WILL BE DOING DUAL ROLES – ONE AS MMD PRESIDENT AND THE OTHER AS MINISTER OF FINANCE UNDER PF. THESE CADRES SHOULD HAVE PROTESTED WAY BACK WHEN THE PRESIDENT APPOINTED MUTATI. AT THAT POINT THE CADRES SHOULD HAVE PROTESTED AGAINST THE APPOINTMENT OF MUTATI.

  15. It must be torrid indeed to be a UPNDonkey. Going through anguish everyday, day and night, knowing that the Presidency of the country can never be yours no matter how many factions MMD becomes.
    Underfive can and will never be The President, he can only wish, dream, hallucinate, hold prayer meetings everywhere, etc. The boy seems to be cursed in all that he does in an effort to become The President that he will never be. Kanshi abantu bamo ba bapanga shani?

    • @ Terrible; what has this topic to do with the UPND? you see; you guys are so childish that you cannot debate sensibly on a topic. The only thing you know is to talk about the UPND; come on guys ;

    • Terrible is dreadful, awful, appalling, horrific, horrifying, horrible, horrendous, atrocious, abominable, abhorrent, frightful, fearful, shocking, hideous, ghastly, grim, dire, hateful, unspeakable, gruesome, monstrous, sickening, heinous. Why don’t you swap roles with a parrot, maybe it could do your masters a better service.

  16. We have always suspected that Mutati is a Political Prostitute. RB and Mutati have agreed to be swallowed by PF with full benefits. This means that Mutati will throw away his MMD mind and Lungu will give him a New PF mind. So u can expect Looting of Treasury Funds at a higher scale. Mutati will be told by Lungu what to do and who to give money. At last Lungu has captured the Treasury Coffers and he can spend money as he pleases. Under this arrangement PF will have access to Treasury Funds just like Alex Chikwanda. The grand looting of the Treasury Coffers has started in good time for IMF Money. The looting govt is now in full swing. Mutati can now admit that Zambia’s debt stock is only USD7.2billion instead of $17.2 billion. Mutati says “if u can’t beat them join them”. Mutati’s self…

  17. Stop the protests you PF fellas, for once you and your leaders start working. The country is retrogressing by the day. When are you ever going to start working? If mealiemeal goes to K30 where MMD left it, it means you are working, K45 a bag is too high.

  18. There are two types of cadres, tbe foolish ones and the ignorant ones. The foolish ones dont realise that mutati is working to better the country for everyone, and the ignorant ones just follow blindly and simply repeat what others are saying or doing. In my opinion i wish they would all just sit back and watch the economic indices to see if our economy as a country is getting any better. Because of the foolish cadreism politics, zambia has wasted a lot of brain power. Look at ngandu magande, musokotwane, and the likes, zambia has wasted a lot of brain power just because of silly politicking and listening and hiring the two categories of cadres

  19. Mutati should concentrated on working as a finance minister. How can you to work as Finance Minister now then in 2021 you start decampaigning PF saying they have failed. Who failed

  20. The truth is Mutati highjacked the MMD presidency to begin with. He took over illegally to please the PF now he is having it thrown right back in his face. By the way the PF is a very privilaged party as it is allowed to have demonstrations during a state of emergency.

  21. Will it only be F.M. Felix Mutati?
    what about about other MMD import ministers Dora? ,
    Victoria Kalima?
    Vincent mwale?
    Dr Bowman Lusambo?e.t.c
    what memo of understanding the Alliance between PF and MMD?

    • All the MPs you have mentioned above are PF. They stood on PF ticket. They left MMD before last elections. Mutati is a nominated member.
      I like ECL the real politician. Big things await Mutati after becoming PF member.
      He may be the next Veep in 2021 since the current hard working lady may opt to retire. Then take over from Eddy when the time ripens. I can see someone loosing even in 2026.
      Weldone PF strategists. You are forward planners.

  22. Politics..this is a well orchestrated ploy by both the PF top brass, RB and Mutati.. Stir the water then when it settles, Mutati will be in PF and no longer a threat to EL and/or he will also be an option should 2021 bid fail… Tinayitambapo bola iyi..

  23. Thugs and thieves these Pf are.
    They use unemployed youths to terrorise people , that is the 500,000 jobs lungu promised them, to use them as protesting thugs….

  24. History has an audacity of repeating itself. Mutati is a disciple of the famous ‘Mbala Mafia’. Unfortunately both the living and the dead Mbala Mafia cult has always ended up in disaster. Mutati is liken to an adage Zambian song of Nashire Picheni about the greediness of a hyena “Nigwile uku ndi uku Fisi anang’abika kubili”. Meaning the greedy quest of benefiting both ways fatally left the hyena torn into two – dead.
    These were dark dirty greedy dealings by Mutati to take care of his pockets leaving his group languishing impoverished with poverty. Chipenzi should come clean as an advocate of good governance that Mutati can not eat with PF regime and dupe Zambians that he is at the same time leading an MMD party. The two parties have different ideologies and his association with PF…

  25. Will be a worsed miscalculation if Mutati decide to join PF, because its very clear that PF is not wanted in the country who ever will stand on PF ticket will lose elections in 2021, so am warning Hon. Mutati to consult his members countrywide before he makes a very big mistake which he will regret for the rest of his life. PF are not trusted even if he joins them today its not guaranteed that they will keep him as a Minister of Finance because already we are aware that Edgar Changwa Lungu wants Vunga to be a Minister of Finance, so let Muatati be very careful in his calculation

  26. If the anti-mutati protests are a gimmick to let him give up his MMD presidency so that he becomes a pf member for the sake of looting the treasury, then zambia my beloved country will be the Haiti of the continent.Ba mutati be careful, better leave the PF government so that when the economy is worse u are not to blame and concntrate on your party,MMD.
    You are a good and intelligent finance minister so far.Use your beautiful IQ to make this decision.

  27. Did you Zambian hear of what embarassment Lungu exposed you to during the Reed Dance Ceremony in Swaziland? It’s so shameful I cannot even get myself to reveal the masalamusi! This “mtototo” they like swallowing, someone should have told him he should have emptied all his steam into Esther, Dora and Mumbi Phiri because arriving there starring at “anakazi” with breasts that defy the pull of gravity and hipps that form canopies, awe sure Jonathan was firing indiscriminately in the presence of Mswati. Anyway, before going there Jonathan should have sought the permission of Nkosi ya maNkosi Mpezeni Njengembaso Jere ka Zwangendaba. Manje mwaziona, maloza eka eka aya Jonathan Dununa Shooting!

  28. As for Mutati, he has now got a taste of his own medicine. Just watch this space, within this year Lungu will fire him as minister of Finance, he will then have no constituency and he wont be a member of the MMD. The man is now in a very untenable situation, between a rock and a hard place, these are the fruits of treachery!

  29. But Zambian politics is very primitive and dirty. You bet half of these people in the picture have zero clue about what they are demostrating about. One wonders too wht Northerners are also allowing themselves to be used by “Kansundila pa kalukobo” and Jonathan to discard one of their own without a guarantee that his replacement will also be a “Katangese” or Mbala Mafia! Ubunangwa ku Muchinga fwafulisha over over.

  30. Ndiye ma politics yaupuba aya,Lets learn to give credit were its due. No one can deny the fact that Honourable Mutati is doing a very good job as finance minister,i don’t see any logic in people demanding for his resignation. It’s not Government of PF but the Republic of Zambia. I therefore don’t see any reason why he has to belong to a certain political party in order to be minister so long someone is doing a good job.This is Zambia and not Northern Rhodesia people, it’s high time we start exhibiting political maturity.

  31. Imwe ba Mwila, haven’t we got better things to do as a nation than politicking all the time? What value do these petitions add to poverty reduction? If the subject is that important, can’t you do it quietly in your party circles than distracting our attention?
    Yesterday it was presidential petition by UPNDonkeys, today it is petition by clueless party cadres to remove Mutati, all time and energy wasting.
    Please PF, don’t reduce yourselves to Donkeys, we have had enough of them!!

  32. Sad to see the mmd go down in this manner. Who is after the survival of the mmd, mutati or Mumba? only time will tell.

  33. After losing the battle with HH, now the destructive PF have turned the bitterness onto themselves. If it’s an alliance why then should you want to absolve MMD. I smell Rupiah Banda in all if this unfortunately and as I earlier said this is lungu positioning himself for 2021.

  34. So you fellas cant smell the coffee ? Ecl and Mutati know that the MMD Presidency case is closing in on mutati’s illegality and so to give him some sence of ‘importance’ these ‘protests’ have been organised at the very high level together with Mutati so that his ‘defection’ to PF comes before the Courts ‘uproot’ him from MMD Presidency. That way, he continues to be PF together with the few structures he will defect with. Come 2021 and with the improved kwacha standing etc, HH will cry again !

  35. It is a pity the PF SG (Mr. Mwila) is NOT an intellectual to comprehend the dynamics of Zambian politics. In a multi-party state the PF should just learn to apply great and fine organisation skills in this competitive world, as it cannot go to sleep and hope to get voters to support it on a silver plate.

  36. It is really unfortunate that these issues are coming up! Iam sure it started with individuals who are eying Mutati’s position. Ba President Edgar Lungu be extra careful when sorting out this issue. Mr. Mutati knows the work he is doing as compared to most of the past Ministers of Finance. Should you make a mistake of removing him (Mutati) your government may fail to sustain the shock and impact and you may experience set backs. Some of the people in PF who are advocating for the removal of Mutati from his portfolio may NOT mean well to your party. Be extra careful to handle this matter or else you may cause more harm than good to your party and government.

Comments are closed.

Read more

Local News

Discover more from Lusaka Times-Zambia's Leading Online News Site - LusakaTimes.com

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading