Patriotic Front Secretary General Winter Kabimba has admitted that his party is weak in Southern Province and has since called for hard work and sacrifice among party leaders at various levels in vigorously marketing the ruling party.
And Mr. Kabimba has dismissed assertions from certain quarters that PF is a political party for Bemba speaking people only.
Addressing a meeting in Choma on Saturday to welcome people who defected from the MMD and UPND, Mr. Kabimba said figures from the just held presidential and general elections indicate a dismal performance in Southern province.
He said the PF leadership needed to work hard to win Southern province to the PF by aggressively marketing the values and manifesto of the party.
Mr. Kabimba said despite performing badly in Southern province, the PF government is resolved to bring about socio-economic development in the province.
He said the decision by President Sata to relocate the provincial capital to Choma shows the PF is committed to fostering development in the province.
He said all the leaders in the PF must emulate President Sata’s leadership style by being accommodative and forgiving as doing so will attract more members to the party.
And Mr. Kabimba has dismissed assertions from some quarters that PF is a political party for Bemba speaking people.
He said President Sata wants to unite Zambia by treating all citizens equally irrespective of their tribal belonging accusing UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema of being vindictive and unforgiving.
“Myself as Secretary General of the party, I am not Bemba but a Saala from Mumbwa, a tribe belonging to the Tonga speaking group,” he told the meeting.
Mr. Kabimba disclosed that Mr. Sata had invited UPND Monze Central Member of Parliament Jack Mwiimbu to serve as Southern Province minister but he declined the offer.
“The President never asked him to resign from UPND but told him to become minister while being a member of the UPND and serve the people of Southern province,” he said.
Mr. Kabimba said UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema on several occasions refused to heed advice on how to work with the PF when it was in opposition because he had only been bent on taking over the presidency of the UPND/PF pact.
He said it was sad that the people of Southern province had clung on to the opposition UPND even when it is abundantly clear that the party with its support only in one province cannot rule Zambia without the assistance of the other provinces.
Mr. Kabimba said this situation is not strange as UNIP in the post independent era faced similar resentment from the then African National Congress(ANC) whose leaders, however, exhibited maturity and selflessness by signing the Choma declaration to unite the province with the rest of the country.
[pullquote]He said the PF government’s 90 days meant that government was committed to initiating various developmental programmes within 90 days of assuming office.[/pullquote]
“We have examples of selfless and good leaders who in the past have tried to unite southern province with the rest of the country. The late Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula and Mungoni Liso signed the Choma declaration,” he said.
Meanwhile, Vice President Guy Scott has assured farmers in Southern Province that they will start receiving their money this week.
Dr. Scott disclosed that government has released K8 billion that is already in the banks for the farmers’ payments.
ZANIS reports that the Vice President said this in Mazabuka yesterday when he featured on a live radio programme on Mazabuka Community Radio.
He said the PF government’s 90 days meant that government was committed to initiating various developmental programmes within 90 days of assuming office.
He further said more money has been put in people’s pockets as evidenced by the tax relief on most workers as announced in Friday’s 2012 national budget.
Dr. Scott noted that the 2012 national budget was a quick budget as government had to move quickly to distribute the benefits.
He disclosed that other programmes to be initiated within 90 days include the Freedom of Information bill and the national constitution.
ZANIS
Just campaign and stop from making assertion,PF is for Majority Bembas (even there in Lusaka most MPs are Bemba) save Commissions of Inquiries ie ZRA, Cabinet etc
Mr. Kabimba Its your duty as government to bring socio-economic development in each and every province, whether they voted for you or not. you sounds like Dora who use to say there will be no develoment on the Copperbelt should they vote for PF.
Come on Mr Kabimba donchi kubeba, We are born to rule them soon and very soon they will get used..
This is a better way of addressing pipo other than saying “some tribes train their children at a tender age to support their tribes” we need to stop thinking tribe if we are to develop as a Country. Under 5, now PF is coming for your strong hold
True.
the issue of tribe .MR WINTER KABIMBA should know ,wether he agree or disagree.The FACT is all political parties promote and practice tribal politics at present in zambia.NOT UNTILL WHEN AS A PEOPLE EVERYONE CHANGES AND TUNE THE MIND TO the required level of embracing each other as zambian and ONE ZAMBIA ONE NATION .Please mr kabimba shud not point a finger at his friend just becoz his in a rulling party.
#3, Under 5, now PF is coming for your strong hold
the aged, that’s old thinking, I guess you are 65. You are over the working age limit.
BIG SHAME ON YOU MR WINTER KABIMBA JST TELL THE ZAMBIAN PEOPLE THAT ITS NO POSSIBLE TO DEVELOP ZAMBIA IN 90 DAYS OF BEING IN OFFICE.
this chap will kiss my ass..you will not win the Magoye seat..after all you call those people Bantustans with your pfost newspaper..pf is a very tribal party!!
Better way of responsing to tribalism than saying, “UPND is a tribalistic party too.” HH and crew must learn from this. It shows maturity and leadership.
Bantustans will never vote for PF. They will remain UPND even when they are taken to the grave.
I know that one should never give up, however, I just can’t see the PF penetrating into the Southern Province, unless there was a merger between PF and UPND. Needless to say this wont happen while the two leaders of these parties are in charge.
Its like forcing a donkey to drink water that it doesn’t want. Ask yourself why the province can’t vote for you? Asking votes from people you perceive as tribal is something else. Lets check ourselves before we saying something to the public. This issue of seeing these humble people of Southern Province to be tribal won’t work and leaders come and go so lets be proactive and effective in our thinking.
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The best way to market the PF is for your government to develop the whole country, and to improve the living conditions of the people. Act more, and talk less!
PF full of Bembas, sure even in Western privnce you put Permanent Secretary as a Bemba, its not fair, it really bad
its not possible for now to market PF as you are huting people each day. and the dictotar Satan want to abolish online pepers. and how do you makert when you are busy hurting people. that is why they wish him to die. people are alread tired
What Kabimba is doing in Southern Province? Is he not who said Tongas think tribe and not with their brains and refused to agologise when he was confronted. Kabimba go home.
#2 At least Wynter Kabimba iz not threatening anyone with “no development” if they don’t/didn’t vote for the PF.
Considering that Zambia haz over 73 tribez or the compacted 7 (official local languagez) and yet the PF got 43% votes from theze same people, while somebody still thinks the ruling party iz for Bembas, makes interesting reading.
Ba PF you will be short lived
Wynter just keep on freezing with your useless law degree from matero. Who told you that people in Southern Province need to be convinced with cheap heaps of nonsense??!!
People in Southern Province decide on their own my brother. Besides after, sidelining those galant PF supporters in the Southern Province by appointing people from the oppossition to commissioner positions you think your nonsense will work???? Just take this kind of cheap politics to your kaponyas.
Only those who are tribal see tribalism in PF. Country men don’t bother about your neighbours tribal what should concern you is whether that neighbour is positively contribution to your well being.
Wynter Sokwe Wamuntu.we not interested in yr PF full of kolwes to ramsack of maize fields. fORGET IT SIR,Southern is not a zone for evil minded thugs like u.
Ha ha ha Bantustan at work!ha ha winter forget about bantustan.they will never listern even if u give them $1billion.What they want is power.
Well done Mr Kabimba. Zambians should not vote on tribal lines but what a party can do to improve the lives of the people. Dont just vote UPND simply because you are Tonga. Join PF, MMD or UNIP if they offer better ideas for development in the area. We must work with the government to develop southern province.
Just because of the upcoming Magoye seat by-election, Winter tries to incline himself to the Tonga people he sais they use tribe to think.Forget it you think you can bribe tongas, u have to do it big time. Chitenges and bags of millie meal that work in other part of the country cant work in the South. 4get it no seat for you in southern province bwana.live with it.
15 Lungwe, the PS for Western Province is Mr. Augustine Seyuba and the character is Lozi so what are you talking about.
How do you expect votes from people you’ve maligned & you call them Bantustans?. & who said moving the provincial capital from Livingstone to Choma is development? Hahaha, Ba PF mulansekesha ine!. If I were you chaps I would not waste time trying to cheat Tongas because you won’t manage. You can only cheat the lazy & hungry kolwestans.
Love him or hate him, MCS is quite the political strategist. Wynter Kabimba is all over the place, campaigning and mobilizing the grassroots to strengthen the party. They understand that they need to continue doing this to consolidate on their victory. Other parties would do well to copy a leaf from the PF book and not disappear into obscurity only to reappear and make noise at election time. Opposition, making poltiical noise should be an ongoing process. Take note!
Knowing Tongas well, they hate bad language. Actually the going of Winter Kabimba a man who said they use their tribe to think than their brains makes things worse. You cannot insult a Tonga and get away with it, these are principled people in nature, no wonder most of their people study law, economics and Accounts where you have to exercise principles in life. PF should be careful the way they deal with Tongas, these are conservative societies whose people value who they are than money. You cannot bribe Jack Mwimbu with money, he may have more money that what MP position can offer, and knowing PF the day of leaving they could embarrass him to his grave the way they did to Sikota. Tongas have a saying to say what has happened on a good one will repeat itself on a bad one.
KK got it right with Tongas because he engaged them, you cannot force a tonga to belong to you, no. These are people who do not follow pronouncements. They value dignity in life, if money means losing dignity they will never go for it. They are not easily bought, they can even tell a leader that you are wrong here, and do not grow goose piples on the mention of the word president. I remember how their chiefs lectured and questioned Banda last year when he went to adress them in Mazabuka. For a Tonga, leadership is a service to the people and not a way of making money, even for traditional leadership, chiefs are the ones who give, and not subordinates to feed the chief no. They respect people according to their moral standing in society, thats why a wise 20 year old can be a chief.
time is on our side just let the President HE MCS do his job and spread development to every corner of Zambia, 1 zambia 1 nation… Lekeni Kateka Ateke he is commander in chief of our armed forces. So any terrorists trying to distablize our country regional or tribal should be dealt with as enemies of the state
Sorry Wynter, you cannot get the vote from people that you insulted. Wasting your time.