During the official opening of the UPND Copperbelt Provincial Secretariat a while ago graced by President Hichilema as guest of honour, the party’s National Youth chairman, Gilbert Liswaniso warned aspiring parliamentary candidates in the forthcoming elections against contesting as independents in case they are left out by the party. Last night, Liswaniso echoed similar sentiments as he featured on KBN TV.
What do we make of all this?
Our brother is totally off tangent, and the sooner he abandons this narrative, the better! There are a lot of dynamics currently at play which the Youth Chairman should be aware of.
A few challenges here and there, such as the wild African elephant in the room – load shedding notwithstanding, it’s a done deal for President Hichilema! Come August 2026, he will be dusting his suits or indeed getting a new one in readiness for his auspicious second inauguration. However, it will be a Herculean task for most of his MPs, particularly those who have been AWOL from their constituencies, have been ducking phone calls, let alone neglected to spear head or initiate development programmes in their jurisdictions.
There are no two ways about it, it’s ‘ZWA!’ for such kind of characters. Unlike the previous general elections, the electorates won’t just be applying KWENYU KWENYU KWENYUS wherever they spot a hand (the UPND party symbol), they will be motivated by the performance of candidates at personal level be it MPs, Mayors or Councilors!
The other aspect to consider is the issue of old timers in the party such as Internal Affairs and Security Minister Hon. Jack Mwimbu. To them it doesn’t matter whether they have overstayed in parliament or not; they are blinded to the reality on the ground by a sense of entitlement. Responding to his opponent who is somehow breathing heavily on his neck in his constituency, Hon. Mwimbu lashed out at his opponent and wondered about his whereabouts when the party “suffered for 23 years in the opposition.” For someone to put their boots on the ground in a constituency and start investing heavily, it means they’ve seen an opportunity. Do you expect them to simply walk away without putting up a fight? If we understand politics better, we should expect to see more “dog fights” not only in Monze where ba Mwimbu is poised to clock 30 years, but elsewhere where the ruling party stands better chances of winning.
It’s also important to be mindful that for some party officials, election time is a jamboree where they hope to mint gold! This is not only synonymous with the ruling parties, but any party that stands any chance of forming the next government. Ma Provincial Chairmen become industrious and auction adoptions to the highest bidders. In one political party, we heard stories of how some women…..nay slay queens threw caution to the wind and offered their voluptuous bodies to sickly party officials in exchange for adoptions! While some tumbled at the polls, others made it to parliament or indeed councils.
This election is for the UPND to win or lose…..how the party leadership shall play its cards will help determine the outcome. To avoid ending up with a hung parliament at the end of the day after adopting unpopular candidates who might have simply bought adoptions, it’s incumbent upon President Hichilema to take charge of the adoptions through his able Political Advisor, Levy Ngoma. Dispatch Levy “pa ground,” let him take a reconnaissance and most importantly, supervise the primary elections in collaboration with the National Secretariat. This way, UPND would have effortlessly assembled a winning team.
Salute!
Prince Bill M. Kaping’a
National Coordinator
HH Mpaka 2031 People’s Alliance