The opposition Patriotic Front has instructed its Members of Parliament not to attend a meeting called by President Hakainde Hichilema this morning.
President Hichilema is today scheduled to hold a meeting with all MPs at Government Complex whose agenda is yet to be made public.
PF Acting President Given Lubinda who chaired a meeting held at Ndozo Lodge in Chilanga yesterday instructed all PF MPs to boycott the meeting.
Mr Lubinda has since warned that the party will expel any MP who will attend the meeting because President Hichilema did not follow the right channels in summoning the MPs.
A highly placed source who attended the meeting revealed that the PF is unsettled that President Hichilema is now planning clandestine meetings with the opposition when Parliament has a clear provision for such meetings.
Over 45 MPs from the PF attended the meeting and Mr. Lubinda, Acting Secretary General Nickson Chilangwa and Leader of the Opposition Brian Mundubile addressed the gathering.
During the meeting, Mafinga Member of Parliament Robert Chabinga was identified as one of the moles in the PF who has been leaking information to President Hichilema.
“He was sternly warned that the party knows what he has been doing with President HH. He was even given a lift in the Presidential Chopper from President HH’s recent visit to Muchinga and he couldn’t deny it. He told that he should simply resign if he doesn’t want to respect the party’s position on the relationship with the UPND government,” the source said.
The source said MPs felt that the planned meeting with President Hichilema has not been organized in good faith and could be a trap to buy their support in Parliament.
“All the MPs were surprised that President (HH) has now started courting the opposition when this is the same man who instructed his MPs to be staging walk outs in Parliament because he didn’t recognize Edgar Lungu as President,” the source said.
The source added, “we have never heard of a sitting President meeting MPs outside the precinct of Parliament. We have a strong belief that he is up to no good. He needs to understand that in a democracy, there is a clear separation between the three arms of government.”
The source observed that the Executive should not be seen to be meddling in the running of other arms of government.
“If he can meet opposition MPs without even writing to the party leadership, what can stop him from meeting Judges because he wants to control everything including the Judiciary.”
The source stated that all the MPs including Mr. Chabinga committed themselves to adhere to the directive and stay away from the meeting.
It’s only fair that they shun the meeting. My opinion.
To gain what from a meeting with clue less PF MPs
Although this is bad, but PF would be justified to not to attend this meeting. Mr Hakainde during his twenty years in Opposition ensured his MPs never cooperated with the sitting Government. People like Mulusa, Syamunene, District of Chilanga chairman and others were expelled for trying to work with Government. Southern Province MPs never welcomed the Heads of State visiting the province. You reap what you sow.
Hh has sunk so low in his bid to have a one party state. He now wants to buy off opposition. This is good for us to root out any chancers and opportunists in pf. Whoever attends let them stay there and when we win next election let them remain there
WHO WANTS THEM THERE ANYWAY
THEY DISTROYED THE COUNTRY SO REALLY WHAT CAN THEY CONTRIBUTE
ALSO LUBINDA AND THE PF SOLAN WITH LUNGU ??
CHANGE IS NEEDED
WHO WANTS THEM THERE ANYWAY
THEY DISTROYED THE COUNTRY SO REALLY WHAT CAN THEY CONTRIBUTE
ALSO LUBINDA AND THE PF SOLAN WITH LUNGU ??
CHANGE IS NEEDED
PF AKA UNIP KIKIKIKI
These guys are destroying the party. They are supposed to start doing smart politics not this.
I agree with Tikki, who cares that those corrupt thieving PF rats won’t show up? I hope they stay away from ALL meetings. Absolutely NOBODY will miss them, that’s for sure! Bye, stup!d GL!
Just meet him and ask him what he has to
Offer?If the deal is good then better then
Rebranding and regrouping and we don’t
Know if it will work.
TIKKI and No CORRUPTION do not underplay the Importance of the opposition in Parliament. Remember How the BILL 10 was short down in Parliament.
We need the opposition to work hand in hand in Parliament for BILLS to pass. UPND has no clear majority in Parliament for now, hence any critical changes to the CONSTITUTION will require 2/3 majority for it to go through. Currently its only S I’s the government can proclaim and amend without the support of opposition,
So guys think twice, we need each other for this country to prosper
Unfortunately unpalatable language will never add any grain of value to development in Zambia.
UPND the Party of liars. My advise, do not allow your MPs to attend any of such meetings. HH is free to adress all MPs in Parliament.Any were out side Parliament, it will be foolish for oppostion MP to attend because the Chairman will be no longer Republican President but UPND President. Mr Lubinda you should have learnt something from MC on such issues. Expel who ever does not follow party guidance. Controlling the economy, FUELl is going UP.
Indeed there are only 2 transparent ways that HH can meet PF MPs, either through their Party President or through the Speaker. Whatever his agenda let him just do that.
” What goes round comes round!” so they say. I can fully understand that whilst in opposition President HH did things that did not help the opposition cause and I could cite many. However, I think PF and all other political parties in opposition need to up their approach. Let them show how a party in opposition can be mature and still offer checks and balances and in the process send their message to the electorate. Why do I say this when Former President ECL drove to independence day to hand over power he did just that. The closed door meeting championed by President RB was in my view a seal of ‘lets begin afresh’ We have but one Zambia lets move on..painful as it is we are a better people than this. When prosperity judges us we shall be called to answer. Let bygones bygones…
I blame the President for trying to meet value less characters like PF MPs,the same characters who did collosal damage to our country
Why does he want to meet PF MPs, when PF is clearly the mother of all evil in our country. A shelter with booth on the Kitwe Chingola road called a toll gate cost Zambians 4.3 million US dollars at the current rate 73 million Kwacha. And you want to meet them
Doing exactly what you condemned, because you are now in power?
It’s now become important for the opposition to work with gorvenment, when upnd expelled all those who tried to work with the PF govt while in opposition?
Kupapa fye!
Ba Issacher ni hypocrisy iyi. That just shows you Zambian politicians are not creative. Doing the same things the previous govt tried and the opposition doing the same things the previous opposition did
Interesting! They don’t know why he wants to meet them and they are not that curious to know but rather keep the ignorance by staying away! Anyhow with the UPND government they are lucky to be in the know that their boycott would not have any retaliatory repercussions as it was under PF where the CDF could be withheld from them. So will this behavior continue ad infinitum? The constituency representative member recall article needs revisiting! Imagine if the so called meeting resulted in disclosure of extra resources being available to disburse at the president’s pleasure and calling for those present to put their cases forward for areas of needed extra help outside already funded ones!
He is their pay matter. . Shun the meeting on your peril (work for PF or Gvt)
If Mr Chabinga is a mole, why are you still with him? Get rid of the guy. Other matter, LT is this is a library picture? If not, it’s truly laughable – that, PF should still be adorning the face of the leader who no longer leads the party! When will PF discard old stuff & move on??
Many will attend. HH is not heavy-handed politically, many PF MPs see him as logical and reasonable. Expulsions are highly risky for PF, by-elections cost money and without the presidency, they’d struggle to win these.
Why would HH want to meet MP’s, most of who stole public money under PF? These are thieves & thieves never repent!