Africa-Press – Zambia. The wind of change is not just in Kanyama because the price of bread is the same in Mandevu as everywhere across the country, says opposition UPND Alliance member Kelvin Bwalya Fube (KBF).
Reacting to PF central committee member Paul Moonga’s assertions to Daily Revelation that Kanyama was the only place in Lusaka where it will be 50-50 between PF and UPND, because the area was largely inhabited by Tongas, Lozis and Luvales, whom he said voted on tribal lines, Fube said it was unfortunate that there were still politicians who were singing about tribalism in this day and age, saying such people were affecting the next generation who were being born from mixed tribes. He said those children would start asking themselves “what is wrong with me as a child born of Tonga parents?”
“Is it a crime to be born a Tonga? I feel very sorry for politicians who want to promulgate tribalism instead of talking of developmental agendas. These are people who have no message for the Zambian people, they have no message of hope, they have no plans on the economic front and all they can discuss is politics of tribalism,” Fube said. “It’s unfortunate. If you look at our founding fathers of this nation, we are mourning ba KK right now, we are still in mourning period. KK didn’t promote tribalism, ba Kapwepwe where I come from in Chinsali myself he never promoted tribalism, he was against it.
And KK was forced to put up the one party participatory democracy because he wanted to curb this thing and he introduced One Zambia One Nation.” Fube said it was such a shame that the country should be struggling with issues of tribalism, quickly pivoting to the issues of bread and butter which he said should concern the electorate.
“But I can assure you my brother, that the wind of change is not just in Kanyama, because the price of bread is the same in Mandevu. The price of bread is the same in Lusaka Central, the price of bread is the same in other constituencies across the country. It is the same in the Copperbelt,” Fube said. “So you cannot pretend that no this is the only reason why people are going to be voting in the manner they want to vote, no. People are going to be voting because the cost of living has gone up. People will be voting because their children can’t find employment, people will be voting because the young youths who have graduated cannot find jobs and this government has no plans for jobs.
People will be voting because the economy is biting not because of the tribe. You can’t say that is the only reason people vote, no. It’s unfortunate I feel sorry.”
But asked on assertions from the PF that he initially did not want to work with UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema as he allegedly considered him tribal, Fube said he had never said that Hichilema was a tribalist, saying his agenda had always been about ideas. He said he has had a series of long meetings with Hichilema about economic plans.
“I have written two books, and I said these are my ideas, can I see your ideas, we engaged for hours on end. And we have agreed, on some of the ideas, his ideas even better. In other areas he has accepted my ideas,” Fube said. “Now when you are allowed to have free thinking with the political intellectual where do you think you are going to fit better, because in so far as where I am coming from is concerned, you must always just follow the leader, even if the leader has no ideas. Me awee, you are insulting my intelligence.”
He argued that God gave him a brain to use for thinking, “but if you would like me to be thinking with the people that the former cabinet produced I am not prepared to do so.”
Fube said he had been able to build his career because the the policies of the late founding father Dr Kenneth Kaunda, but the youths of nowadays were graduating without guarantee for jobs, saying the problem with Zambians was that they don’t want to engage each other on ideas.
“I failed to agree with the people in the party called PF because I saw no ideas in there, everything was about corruption, everything about stealing, everything was about abuse of authority. Everything was about nchekeleko,” said Fube. “No you can’t live like that. And there is no way you are going to convince me that we should continue on this trajectory for the next five years, I am not convinced.”
