UPND convention

... time to make leadership changes

By OSCAR MALIPENGA

UPND tribal tag can only be removed by going for a convention to change its leadership, says Patriotic Front (PF) Lusaka Province Youth chairman Kennedy Kamba. Mr Kamba said as long as there

was no change of leadership through a democratic process (convention), the UPND will always remain with tribal tag.

In an interview on UPND’s card renewal exercise held on Saturday in Lusaka’s Mandevu Constituency, Mr Kamba said renewing membership cards would never change the fact that the UPND was a tribal political party.

“We want to challenge them that card renewal is not going to change the perception that UPND is a tribal party.

“If they want to remove the tag which has been there for long time, let them go for a convention,” Mr Kamba said.

He challenged them to call for a national conference so their leaders could be subjected to party elections as it had been the case with the PF.

Mr Kamba said PF secretary general Davis Mwila and Cen- tral Committee Chairman for election Yamfwa Mukanga recently toured Western province which was followed by provincial interparty elections at ward, constituency, district and provincial level. “So we challenge the UPND that let them call for the national, provincial and district conferences which they are failing to do because they know that their national leaders do not have the blessings of their grassroots,” he said. Mr Kamba said Mr Hichilema was elected because he was Tonga by tribe and was very rich.

“So we challenge them to go for a convention so that the tag of being tribal can be removed and subject their leaders to interparty elections,” Mr Kamba said.

He said UPND was perceived as a tribal party because it did not want to go for interparty elections and does not give chance to other members of the party to exercise their right.

“In 2020, PF will go for a convention where President Edgar Lungu will be elected as a presidential candidate and party leader,” Mr Kamba said.

Mr Kamba urged the UPND to take a leaf from the Patriotic Front which had always been having conventions whenever choosing party leaders as a way of promoting inter-party democracy. He observed that from the time Mr Hakainde Hichilema took over from later Anderson Mazoka the part had never held interparty elections to elect new leaders hence the tribal tag.

Mr Kamba said as long as the UPND would never go for a convention to elected new leaders they would never form government because they were perceived as a tribal party.