The Football Association of Zambia (FAZ) wishes to set the record straight following a story that appeared in the Sunday Mail of February 16, 2020, under the headline “It Wasn’t Me-Ethics, Electoral Committee Offer Differing Accounts”.

FAZ wishes to state from the outset that the author of the said story, Mr Alex Basopo Njobvu is a candidate in the forthcoming elections as chairperson under Lusaka Province.
The author called the Ethics Committee chairperson Mr. Kephas Katongo seeking clarity over his candidature and regrettably went ahead to publish the contents of an informal conversation that was a mix of vernacular and English.

FAZ may within its constitutional provisions seek remedial measures against Mr. Basopo’s conduct who as a FAZ member as well as a practicing journalist has an obligation to act above board.

Mr. Katongo made it very clear as is stipulated in the FAZ constitution that the Ethics Committee and Electoral Committee do work in tandem in the interest of having a smooth running election.

The FAZ Electoral Code does make it clear in Article 7 (1) the eligibility criteria for the positions to be filled within the relevant bodies of FAZ are defined in the relevant positions of the statutes of FAZ.

3) The Electoral Committee shall publish the full list of eligibility criteria (with reference to the relevant provisions of the statutes of FAZ), as well as the documents to be provided for each of the positions within the deadlines stipulated in the statutes of FAZ.

The FAZ Electoral Code in Article 8 (5) clearly stipulates the role of the Ethics Committee, “In parallel, the Ethics Committee shall carry out the integrity checks to the respective candidatures for the Executive Committee and shall inform its decision to the Electoral Committee within three days of the deadline for their submission.”
It is therefore surprising that despite FAZ having clearly spelt out the electoral roadmap repeatedly with the rules and regulations around the elections there is still a sustained subtle campaign to discredit the process.

The Ethics Committee does not wish to rid itself of the responsibility charged on it as regards the integrity test conducted on all candidates. It must however, be noted that there other criteria for validating nominations other than the integrity test.

FAZ wishes to advise the media to remain impartial in their coverage of the electoral process.

The FAZ doors remain open to provide all the necessary information around the elections.

FAZ is happy that the FIFA approved and FAZ extraordinary general meeting (EGM) endorsed roadmap on 1st February, 2020 is firmly on course with all the strict legal procedures adhered to.

For and on behalf of:
FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF ZAMBIA
Sydney Mungala
A/COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

By Isaac Mwanza

The final results of the Chilubi 2020 By-Elections are in and it is time to analyse these numbers to get a feel of the correct picture of what is happening on the ground.

2016 GENERAL ELECTIONS V 2020 BY ELECTIONS

In 2016, the PF candidate for Chilubi polled 13,412 votes and 4 years later, the PF candidate for Chilubi in 2020 by election has polled 16, 553

An Independent Candidate in 2016 General Elections, who was adopted as UPND candidate in 2020, polled 5387 while the UPND candidate had 1243 votes in 2016. By adopting this candidate, the assumption by the UPND was that they would be starting the 2020 race with a potential total of 6630 in its favour. However, the Independent/UPND candidate only managed to poll 4858 votes.

In 2020 by elections, 3 political parties are new entrants into the parliamentary race. They have each polled: NDC – 1308, PAC – 1016 and UPPZ – 279 votes.

The Patriotic Front is the biggest winner in the 2020 by elections. With this win, the PF must utilise it to deliver the 2020 campaign promise to the people of Chilubi if the gains they have made can be consolidated into 2021 victory.

The biggest loser in Chilubi was Chela Stanislaus who had good numbers as an Independent in 2016 but failed maintain that number in 2021, having run on the party ticket of Zambia’s biggest opposition party, the UPND. The UPND may appear to have made some gains but that may not necessarily be true especially that its 2020 candidate already had those numbers in 2016. Where are the UPND voters from 2016, one may ask.

The UPND, in desperate attempt for votes, has been making these decisions were loyal members of the party who have dreams are sacrificed when it comes to choice of leadership and candidates, for political expediency. It happened in Lusaka Mayoral elections and it has now happened in Chilubi. The possibility is that some members who had been building the UPND in Chilubi felt frustrated by adoption of a candidate who has not toiled for the party, and they had to cross and vote for the PF or other new entrants. This may explain the gains the PF made in Chilubi and also the numbers obtained by new entrants.

In 2016, apart from voters who voted for the 2020 UPND candidate, Chilubi had 3446 voters who didn’t want to be associated with either the PF or UPND. In 2020, we can assume this number voted for the new entrants who polled a total of 2603.

But we also had the FDD participating in the 2016 elections to the total votes of 1043. Question is what has happened with this number? These are the numbers again which may have gone to any other candidates in 2020 by elections.

We must also remember that the total votes in 2016 General Elections for Parliamentary Candidates was 25,192 representing 53.97 percent of the total voters. In 2020, a total of 24, 826 voters turned up to vote. This means a total of 366 voters did not vote in comparison to 2016.

CONCLUSION

The PF has done extremely well and this can be attributed to the robust campaign put up by its Campaign team led by Hon Brian Mundubile and Hon Chitalu Chilufya and those who worked in the background to support this team. Congratulations to the entire team and to Mr Mulenga Fube, the man I lived with in Chunga who has staked his neck for the PF since its formation in 2001.

The NDC, a party barely born a year or two ago has done much more well in Chilubi than parties that existed before. Within these formative stages, the NDC has gotten votes which UPND, the longest opposition party got in 2016. This is progress for NDC but I do not think the NDC see themselves as forming Government in 2020. The best for Mr. Kambwili is to try his luck in 2021 as Sata did and within 2 general elections, the NDC may form Government.

All parties need their think tanks to get down to Chilubi and understand how the people voted in 2020, get the reality and lessons to see whether these numbers are sustainable in 2021 elections

Lusaka Province Minister and Kabushi Member of Parliament Bowman Lusambo has described the Integrity Test used by the Football Association of Zambia to screen candidates for the Post of President as a sham process devoid of natural justice.

Reacting to news that Former FAZ President and Football Icon Kalusha Bwalya will not be among those contesting for FAZ’s top Job, Mr. Lusambo said that the Ethics Committee was birthed by personal hatred and the process was now being used to fix individuals while perpetuating the continued stay of others at the apex of our game.

During the week, Football Icon Kalusha Bwalya’s comeback to Football Administration has suffered a setback after failing the integrity test after the FAZ Ethics Committee ruled that only three Candidates, Emmanuel Munaile, Joseph Nkole, and Andrew Kamanga are eligible to contest the Elections out of the Seven that filed in their nominations.

Speaking during a press briefing, FAZ Electoral Committee Chairperson Ronald Hatanga said the Ethics Committee has been transparent, and that those that have failed the test, have up to February 17, to appeal.

Hatanga who was in the company of the Vice-Chairperson Mwape Chileshe said that the ethics committee was guided by the constitution during the vetting process which leads to the final list of Candidates.

And but Football Icon Kalusha Bwalya has described the pronouncements by FAZ Ethics Committee as null and void. Speaking during a press briefing, Bwalya said he is qualified and will contest the election.

Below is Mr Lusambo’s full Statement

As a football-loving citizen of this great nation, allow me to share my very personal views about the outcome of the so-called Integrity Tests conducted by the Football Association of Zambia for the upcoming elective AGM.

To begin with, it should be placed on record that this purported Integrity Test is a sham process devoid of natural justice. The Ethics Committee was birthed by personal hatred and the process is now being used to fix individuals while perpetuating the continued stay of others at the apex of our game.

If this process adopted any semblance of justice, the individuals making up its composition would not even have been any close to it. The truth is that the composition of this Committee is questionable and therefore calls into question it’s rulings. Football House does not have any room for police officers or judges because it’s not a Police station neither is it a Court room.

By any case, if the FAZ Executive Committee really wanted to know the integrity levels of its potential candidates, it should have opened up the investigations to credible state institutions with capacity and track record in investigations and I believe that even the instigators of this bias process would have been found wanting.

By blocking other people with the passion for the game from participating in its development, the current FAZ Executive is killing the game we love so much. Their conduct amounts to that of a serial killer. With the poor results that have characterized their tenure in office, it is fair to say the people running the game today are Football Serial Killers. Their intentions are never about developing the game but getting and maintaining their positions as a way of massaging their small bruised egos.

My call is for all genuine football lovers to rise and defend our game from these Serial Killers before they struck the final nail in the coffin. We have heard private conversations in which they have unashamedly stated that they would rather have Zambia banned by FIFA than give up their positions, that for me confirms that these people care little about the role that the game plays in uniting the nation. For them, this is about egos and not growing the game.

As a nation, we have invested heavily in football. The nation lost its gallant sons in the shores of Gabon playing this game. We shall not allow selfish individuals destroy the one thing that unites this great nation. One wonders where these people were when this team went rebuilding in the aftermath of the Gabon disaster. We have people who put their lives on the line and championed the rebuilding process because they understood what the game meant to this nation. These are some of the people this sham committee chooses to disenfranchise using a sham process.

It should be stated unequivocally that the government owes the football family an explanation on what the rescue plan is from the abys we currently find ourselves in. As the biggest investor in the game, sponsoring majority of the football clubs including the national teams, the state should explain how it will put to a stop to the rapid mutilation of our game by selfish individuals.