Munali MP Mposha tells PF to end confusion ahead of August polls

Munali UPND Member of Parliament Mike Mposha has urged opposition political parties, including the Patriotic Front, to address internal divisions, saying the ruling party wants to face a strong opposition in the August elections.

Mposha said failure by opposition groupings to resolve their differences shows an inability to handle national challenges if they were to be given another mandate. He said opposition parties must demonstrate leadership capacity by first putting their own houses in order.

He was reacting to remarks by Socialist Party leader Dr Fred M’membe, who said the UPND were only relying on opposition disunity to win elections. Mposha rejected that view, describing the ruling party as democratic and stating that, while political competitors can criticise the UPND, they should also acknowledge political realities, including the experience the party’s leader has accumulated over time.

“UPND is a very democratic party, but also you must give us the accolades,” Mposha said, adding that the party’s history in opposition provided experience that should not be dismissed. He said the President spent many years contesting elections and losing before eventually winning, and that the period shaped the party’s approach to political leadership and problem-solving.

Mposha said opposition leaders, including M’membe, should focus on political organisation and leadership rather than internal confusion. He said the ruling party prefers competition against strong rivals, because weaker opposition does not help expose challenges that need to be addressed.

He said the opposition’s inability to sort out internal problems points to deeper limitations. According to Mposha, a party that fails to manage its own internal disputes cannot reasonably be expected to manage the country’s challenges.

The UPND lawmaker said the opposition lacks capacity to provide leadership. He attributed this, in part, to constraints such as people and funding, saying these shortcomings affect how opposition parties operate and organise. He said when parties cannot resolve disputes within their own structures, it raises questions about how they would perform if entrusted with governance responsibilities.

Mposha said the ruling party’s preference is to compete against opponents “of their calibre,” and not against weakened formations. He said the health of a democratic system depends on meaningful competition, but that requires rival parties that are organised, focused, and capable of presenting voters with coherent choices.

He said leadership requires being visionary and communicating a convincing message to the electorate. He said those seeking to lead must be able to set out a direction that voters can understand and evaluate, rather than remaining caught in internal disputes.

In his remarks, Mposha also spoke about governance and economic direction, saying the country had experienced difficult conditions when the UPND took office but that the situation had turned around. He said this improvement was visible and linked it to the government’s focus on production and reducing reliance on imports.

He gave the example of fertiliser production, saying there was now movement towards producing fertiliser locally. He said import dependence in areas such as fertiliser had previously created space for middlemen and the diversion of money. He said increasing local production would reduce the need for imports and limit opportunities linked to import processes.

Mposha also referenced ongoing challenges such as load shedding and its effects, including on mining, as he outlined the kinds of issues government says it is working to address. He said the economy had been in a low state, but that changes were taking place, and he presented these as part of the governing party’s record going into the election period.

He maintained that political competition should be grounded in parties presenting credible leadership and the ability to organise, communicate, and manage problems. He said opposition parties should focus on resolving their confusion, because the ruling party wants to face a strong opposition in the elections.