MUMBI SCHOOLS UPND ON INTRAPARTY POLITICS
By BENNIE MUNDANDO CONCENTRATE on mopping up your intra-party mess by going for a convention to weed out the old guards who have continued losing you elections instead of rushing to international bodies to discredit your own country, Edward Mumbi has blasted the UPND.
Mr Mumbi said no foreign entity would instigate regime change in Zambia.
Commenting on the justended Africa Liberal Network (ALN) in Ghana to which UPND was part of, Mr. Mumbi said the levels of desperation and hunger for power in the UPND had skyrocketed.
The network, among other things, condemned the Zambian Government for alleged dictatorship and also declared its support for the prescription and promotion of gay rights.
He said it was surprising that despite being rejected by Zambians in successive elections, the UPND leadership still had the belief that one of the international bodies would give them national leadership on the platter. He said the party believed an international would help them ascend to power, it had neglected basic intra-party democratic tenents such as allowing the membership choose their preferred candidates as opposed to the current situation where all party officials are appointees.
He said lack of visionary leadership, dictatorial tendencies, immunity to advice, and having a bunch of recycled leaders who were sole decision-makers were reasons for the UPND’s failures.
The only way to rebrand and make the party attractive again was by going back to the basics rather than courting international organisations that seemed to propagate its interests, doing so will make the party become a perpetual opposition political party. “UPND has continued doing all the wrong things and I don’t know whether the party has visionary advisors who see things as they are or are intimidated by the usual dictatorial tendencies exhibited by senior leaders. “Without getting any new results, UPND has continued engaging with any international organisation that seems to propagate their interest without realising that Zambia is a sovereign state whose affairs cannot be dictated by foreign entities.
“What UPND needs right now is to go for a convention so members can choose the leaders of their choice whom they believe can help them strengthen the party rather than those who are just imposed on the people. Intra-democracy must flourish unlike the current situation where the same people who have proved to be political flops still want to hold on party positions,” Mr. Mumbi said.