MMD members told to stop living in the past and re-assess themselves

MMD National leadership have sent a brutally honest massage to their membership across the country telling them to stop living in the past and re-assess themselves.

Winding up the mobilization tour of Central Province NEC members told party structures across the country to wake up and remember that they are no longer the ruling party.

The leadership told the Chisamba District Executive committee and other organs that members should get ride of the mentality they had when the party was in office as the privileges they had were lost when the party lost elections in 2011.

Leading the entourage was National Secretary of the party Raphael Nakacinda who said it was high time members rekindled the spirit of 1990 when the party was formed and started sacrificing to the cause of rebuilding the party and taking back to its glory days.

He said at the time the party was formed people were poorer than they are today but that due to their selflessness, meetings were held with out any need for logistics because they believed in the cause.

He said hard work and sacrifice are the most important ingredients which will take the party to power as opposed to logistics because the resources that are there now can not be compared to belief in the cause.

“I know as national leaders we have a duty to ensure that we provide certain things to ensure that the party leadership across the country is active and working but you as local leaders should also realise that losing elections has its consequences and unwanted effects. We are not like UNIP which has property sprinkled across the country. The party does not have the resources it had when we had a lot of Members of Parliament and the privileges that comes with being the ruling party are no longer there hence the need for us leaders to relearn the spirit at the formation of the party.

“At the time the party was formed most of us here were poor but we sacrificed the bit we could to the common cause. Our for fathers held meetings without sending the so called logistics which we got accustomed to in the 20 years we were in office but its time to wake up and realise that we are in opposition and those logistics are no longer there. We will divide the little we have when we have but for the most part lets sacrifice our time to ensure that we reorganize the party. It is our duty to ensure that this party does not only survive but to take it back in office for the betterment of our country. To be honest the burden of rebuilding the party falls on all of us because we know the difference of the three governments and can make comparisons.”

Nakacinda further said MMD was the most recognised party in the country with a presence everywhere which only need some awakening to re-esturblish itself as the force to be reckoned with in Zambian politics.

“We are the largest political party in this country there is no argument about that but what we have done is go to sleep while other parties have continued to get our members. These hypocrites are busy insulting your leaders and in the night coming to you with sweet talk enticing most of you to join them. What you need to do is instead of going to strengthen our enemies stay in your party. We have been turned into a nursery by political parties, it is high time we started harvesting our members back.”

And Chairperson for Education Henry Mulenga urged members to tell their children about their party.

Mulenga said the strength of the party can only be maintained if parents ensured that their children believed in their party.

He said the beliefs of the party should be passed on from one generation to another so as to creata a cadre of citizens and politicians who will not just jump from one political party to another but believe in its ideologies.

And Maggie Musonda the party’s National Chairlady urged women in the party to come up with ideas that would help to keep them active in the party.

Musonda said women being the backbone of the party should find activities which would attract other women to join their club.

She said MMD women have always lived like one family by ensuring that they helped each other in times of need something she said she had noticed was going down and needed to be rekindled.

And Dauzen Tembo the National Youth Chairperson called on youths to be creative and innovative in their quest to attract other youths to the party.

Tembo challenged party youths to come up with party youth groups which he would help lobby to empower with survival skills.

He said the party had helped a lot of people when it was in office and that some of them are willing to help by contributing to the empowerment of youths.

Tembo who joked that even opposition leaders would be willing to help him because most of them still support MMD said he would approach former party leaders for material help so as to make the party attractive to youths.

Others on the tour were Gaston Sichilima Chairperson for elections, Mary Phiri Chairperson Arts and Tourism and Provincial Executive Committee members led by their provincial Chairperson George Kangwa.