MUTATI LAUDS LUNGU FOR NAKACHINDA NOMINATION
“WE appreciate President Edgar Lungu’s decision to nominate Raphael Nakacinda as Member of Parliament but we want his unwavering aggression to party mobilization to be elevated,” MMD president Felix Mutati has said.
Speaking in an interview yesterday on the sidelines of the end of the first World War centenary celebrations at Chila lodge in Mbala, Mr. Mutati eulogized Mr. Nakacinda, branding him as a gallant soldier who had guided the party through turbulent times but that more was required of him now than ever.
He said rebuilding the party to its old self which won the hearts of many Zambians in 1991 would require the reinvigorated effort of Mr. Nakacinda.
“We are grateful for his nomination of Honourable Nakacinda but we will be a lot more grateful that he invests his energies, creativity and agility to rebuilding the party to making sure that the relevance of the party is not only elevated, but becomes the party that it was once known for in 1991.Our national secretary has been a gallant soldier. He has been a fighter and courageous and has been able to move the party quiet aggressively in the face of many challenges and the battering that it has endured thus far.
“The expectation of the members of the MMD is that the spirit of Honourable Nakacinda will continue to be demanded of him going forward. His agility should not only remain but must be improved upon and the values should continue. This is the programme we expect that Honourable Nakacinda will help us to bank up going forward. The political roots that we may take are irrelevant but what matters is our output,” Mr. Mutati said.
Meanwhile, Mr. Mutati appealed to politicians who were in the habit of snubbing national events to realise that national interest was bigger than political ideological differences as the latter were irrelevant.
“We have a national event and we say it was for them, for who? Is the end of the First World War about a particular political party? Was the choice of Mbala about a particular political decision? We must celebrate as Zambians that this event ended here so that as a country, we are remembered globally. Let us build value and use this event to place Zambia as one of the most emphatic tourist destinations by amplifying our history.
“We are creating tremendous fatigue in the people because we are investing disproportionately in political conversations that are not yielding the desired results. We are putting quarrels around rivalry and enmity.
Let us be open about ideas from everybody because nobody has the monopoly of wisdom. Everybody must bring something to the table of progress,” he said.
He said it was unfortunate that some politicians decided to stay away from such an important event which accorded an opportunity to Zambia to sell itself as a tourist destination.