‘Get out if you’re against new members’

PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has challenged Patriotic Front PF members who like saying they started the PF with late President Michael Sata to get out of the party if they did not believe in recruiting new members. And President Lungu said all those who wanted to challenge him at the party Conference slated for July were welcome. He said the difference between the PF and other political parties was that the PF was democratic. “All leaders should be chosen by the people including myself. We have no excuse for that. We have to hold the elections,” he said. President Lungu said he had continued to get messages that only those who were with late President Sata in 2001 should remain in the front seats of the party. He reminded the members that the ruling party would only grow by bringing new members. The Head of State said this when he addressed Patriotic Front PF officials from Western Province on Tuesday evening in Mongu. "Those of you who belong to PF and like saying we were together with Mr Sata, we were only four but how come we have so many people in the front seats, you don't belong to this party because if you did, you have failed Mr Sata's teaching which was to recruit people from other political parties and to bring them to PF. “If you don't know politics and you say we were four with Mr Sata and we should remain four, get out of PF," President Lungu said. He said Mr Sata was in Movement for Multiparty Democracy-MMD but when he left he invited people from all over including the MMD to form PF. President Lungu reminded the PF members that no party would win an election without people. The Head of State said those who were power hungry and wanted to disrupt the party should be thrown out of the PF boat. He said it was the responsibility of the people in PF who were providing leadership to ensure that the party only had people that believed in what late President Sata stood for. "All those who don't believe in what President Sata stood for will be thrown out of the boat so that we remain with the common vision that President Sata had in growing the party for the interest of the Zambian people," said President Lungu.