By Socialist Party Reporter
LET the best among us win next year’s elections, says Socialist Party president Fred M’membe. Dr M’membe also tells Zambians that choice of quality political leadership is paramount.
Meanwhile, Dr M’membe says a pact between the UPND and the PF is possible, because: “they are all pro-capitalist parties.” Speaking on ‘Let the people talk’ programme on Phoenix FM radio on September 15, 2020, Dr M’membe said each political party in Zambia had the right to exist.
“Let the best among us win next year’s elections. We may not like the PF but if the PF emerges to be the most supported, the most trusted, next year, let them continue to rule,” Dr M’membe said, in response to some callers who proposed for political mergers ahead of the August 2021 elections.
“If the UPND next year emerges to be the most supported, let them rule. If any other party, including the Socialist Party, next year emerges to be the winners, let them rule.” He said the expediency of trying to undermine the country’s multiple political dispensation led nowhere. Dr M’membe referred to abortive past political alliances.
“We have seen these alliances before; the UPND that you (a caller) are saying we should join because it’s your party, in 2006 it had an alliance called UDA (United Democratic Alliance)…” Dr M’membe recalled.
“In 2009, there was a pact that was initiated by the UPND with PF. [But] that alliance collapsed on who should become president and who should get how many seats in Parliament….”
He indicated that the Socialist Party was not there to win power for the sake of it.
Dr M’membe said the Socialist Party did not exist because of the PF being in government.
“With or without PF, the Socialist Party will exist in this country,” he said, adding that political pacts have been seen before in Zambia and that people knew what those arrangements were about. “Definitely, there will be a winner next year. If UPND is strong, why do they need a pact? Sata and the PF won the elections in 2011 without a pact.”
Dr M’membe underscored that next year, the strongest party would win the polls.
“If it’s UPND that will win, let it win. And we should win not because of the political schemes we come up with but because of what we believe in. We want to win because of what we believe in – not because of the formations or the pacts we get into,” he explained.
“Alliances are not forced on people. Why force us to get into an election pact? It’s like forcing somebody into a marriage…. It must be a voluntary union. Let alliances be voluntary.”
Dr M’membe said those with common aims – “whose agenda is to remove the PF at any cost – let them band together.”
“We are not against them! [But] our agenda goes beyond that; it’s to build socialism in Zambia…. We are not out to replace one group of bandits with another,” he clarified. “We have seen it before; we all ganged up against UNIP. Who did we replace UNIP with? Let’s be a bit more serious.”
He noted that those in the Socialist Party were very clear on who they were and that: “we have a very fair understanding of who others are.” “Actually, there is more similarity between UPND and PF – they are all pro-capitalist parties. A pact between UPND and PF is possible, after all, they were in a pact before in 2009,” Dr M’membe said.
“How did they manage to get in a pact in 2009? They were similar! So, there are more similarities between UPND and PF than there are more similarities between us and them.”
Meanwhile, one caller told Dr M’membe that his promises of a just and peaceful Zambia amounted to him being a liar.The caller praised the PF government’s ‘second-none’ delivery of developmental projects across Zambia. In response, Dr M’membe said: “cawama tata muleikala bwino (it’s good that you are living well).”
“Mulesekelamo (you are happy) but te bonse abalesekelamo yama (it’s not everyone who is happy about the status quo, uncle). Imwe muleikala bwino (you are living well), namutemwa ifyo muleikala (you are happy with the way you are living). Cilifye (it’s okay),” Dr M’membe said.
“We are living in a multiparty political dispensation which allows many political parties to be formed and to give our people a choice, both in terms of which political party they support or join and in terms of the policies that they want to choose from. So, if you choose to be with PF, cilifye (it’s okay). It’s your constitutional right! If others choose other political parties, it’s also their entitlement.”
He added that: “choice of leadership is a very important thing.”
“Those you want to represent you must be people you trust [and] if not, mukalabepwa fye cila mwaka (you’ll be lied to every year),” he cautioned.
Earlier on in the programme, Dr M’membe reiterated that today Zambia had got one of the highest social inequalities. He asked how possible it was for a Christian country like Zambia to have such glaring inequalities.
“The gap between the haves and the have-nots is huge. If are one Zambia, One Nation, we should live similar lives; our conditions should not be so different,” Dr M’membe said.
“[But] we have left other people behind and [yet] they are telling you there will be nobody left behind. No! The [capitalist] system leaves people behind. It’s designed to leave people behind, wherever it is in the world.”
Dr M’membe argued that capitalism could not carry everybody along at the same pace and level. “We have people in front [and] we have people behind. Socialism, under the Socialist Party, will make sure we all travel at the same rate, we are all at the same spot, going to the same destination [and] as one country and one people,” explained Dr M’membe.
“You can’t be one people [when] others are eating, others are not eating, others are living well [while] others are not living well…. Can you have peace under such conditions? No! The Zambia we grew up under had no walls. [But] today to have the security you have to have big wall fences around your house.”
Why burying your head in sand! When you can see the presidential race is between ECL & HH. Please keep the little resources you may have than waste it on contesting 2021 elections. Just support HH, he’s your fellow businessman.
My advise to the opposition, next years elections will be about trinkets, the ruling party can afford to distribute anything during campaigns because it will be disguised as govt work but with political connotations, if the opposition try to go head on with ruling party in giving handouts, the will automatically be disqualified because under what disguise will the do that, the only solutions is for opposition to make people realize that politics of trinkets is for the lazy and its meant to turn them into perpetual beggers for the ruling party to hold on to power.
He sounds rational today and has earned himself some respect from me. However, let him be reminded that the gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots” is wide in almost everywhere in the world. Recent surveys reveal that since the pandemic, the wealth of the 643 richest people living in the US alone -among them Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Bill Gates, has increased by 845 billion US Dollars while millions have been plunged into joblessness and financial stress!
This is not a useful article. How’s the best to be judged?
Certainly not an objective article and very repetitive and boring. Its actually written by the party’s own propagandists but they should have just asked Mmembe himself to write it. The party is so retarded its still standing on ideologies that ruled in the 60s. The world has changed
The once powerful man of the post newspaper and he contributed immensely to what we call One Zambia Two nations.
It’s good that he will appear on the ballot papers to show his strength he projected during his postnewspaper erra.
To myself it is PF must go!
Its difficult to believe this is the same man who ran that newspaper. His focus is so off, its scary. It goes to maybe show that his newspaper carried other people’s opinions, not his. Who can really honesty sale communism in today’s world? The biggest communist countries long abandoned communism because it failed, & today they are becoming the most successful capitalists. So honesty, who even wastes his time listening to this capitalist businessman who lost everything through his own politicking. And today he is suddenly a communist. Communists don’t run newspapers even through their wives. This one is a none starter
Its difficult to believe this is the same man who ran that newspaper. His focus is so off, its scary. It goes to maybe show that his newspaper carried other people’s opinions, not his. Who can really honesty sale communism in today’s world? The biggest communist countries long abandoned communism because it failed, & today they are becoming the most successful capitalists. So honesty, who even wastes his time listening to this capitalist businessman who lost everything through his own politicking. And today he is suddenly a communist. Communists don’t run newspapers even through their wives. This one is a none starter. Please someone help him
Yaks correction,the race is not between upnd and pf. Upnd is not a threat. We are penetrating their bedrooms while they are failing ours. So please note that the race is just pf. No competition at all.
Mmembe is still hurt about the post. When you criticize people make sure that your hands are clean. The next one is HH with privatisation.
At this time and age the Patriotic Front-(PF) has reduced the people of Mwansabombwe’s votes to K5 notes and 25 kg bags of mealie meal.
We wouldn’t be surprised to hear that the ECZ was involved in the distribution of K5 notes and mealie meal.
Shame
Fred M’membe is starting his politics afresh. He does not want to sound antagonistic.
He himself is a Capitalist by design but wants to experiment Socialism.
He is even confusing us because he helped remove UNIP’s Humanism of the Orient to usher in West supported Capitalist MMD. Has he suddenly realized that he made a mistake to have made us believe wrongly and that the Saviour is Socialism? Or is this how he must transition from being a formidable newspaper owner to running party politics?
What PF doesn’t understand is that, it’s not that Zambians want HH to be president in 2021, we just don’t want Lungu to continue and be treating everyone like a fool
BA MEMBE, YOU ARE ALL COWRDS. WHY DONT YOU EXPOSE HIM FOR THE MONEY HE STOLE FROM A WIDOW?
I agree with Fred Mmembe on the aspect of an Alliance. There is no need for political alliances in 2021.
HH, Chishimba Kambwili, Harry Kalaba, Nevers Mumba, Angford Banda etc should individually contest for the presidential elections.
A strong showing by Mr Kalaba in his home province Luapula and Kambwili on the Copperbelt would spell doom for the PF. That is what the PF fear more than HH and the UPND.
Mmembe speaks sense and truth. That is the part I like. But the part I don’t like is campaigning against RB and we are now what we are
I have never listened to Dr M’membe carefully, and I have just dicovered that we have a true leader in him. If politicians were talking and arguing in this manner, Zambia would have been a quiet and peaceful nation. I salute you sir and you have just earned yourself a follower. From today I am your member.
I keep wondering how Dr. M’membe plans to govern Zambia if, by some unfortunate circumstances the Socialist Party wins the presidential race next year, in the face of the following problems arising from the nationalization of private companies that is implicitly suggested in the Party’s Manifesto: (a) loss of membership in the African Union, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization; (b) loss of development assistance from Canada, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Japan, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States; (c) loss of eligibility for loans and debt-reduction initiatives facilitated by the IMF, the African Development Bank and the World Bank; and (d) massive capital flight, and diversion (by foreign…
@conistence you’re the one who has analyzed Mmembe perfectly. He is experimenting on what can take him to State House. He was actually in the MMD which removed Socialist Kaunda and replaced him with capitalism.
So how does he become Socialist after being an enemy of socialism?
That’s the problem with democracy. People are made to waste time on political experiments while thieves are busy stealing national resources