THE PF cannot grow because people benefiting more are from the MMD, says suspended PF Luanshya Constituency youth chairman Charles Chanda. And Chanda says the fight to restore the PF back to its original form has started.

Commenting on the protests by PF officials and members from Eastern, Northern and North Western provinces against faction MMD leader Felix Mutati, who is serving as finance minister, Chanda said a lot of party members felt neglected and used by President Edgar Lungu.

“Things will start coming out now. There is a lot of frustration among our members who fought and worked with Mr Michael Sata, may his soul rest in peace, to remove the MMD from government. Now we the people, original PF are outside. The MMD is enjoying more than us,”

Chanda said.

“Sometimes we wonder and think maybe President Lungu is more MMD than PF. These MMD guys are well taken care of. Look at the key position their president (Mutati) is holding! Do you expect him to empower us over his MMD guys? These are the issues that when we speak, we are suspended, expelled from the party. These decisions are made by the MMD so that they can have total control come 2021.”

He said the MMD was more organised than the PF because its cadres were kept well. Chanda said it was a shame that people that wanted to see the PF and Sata’s vision live on were expelled from the ruling party.

“PF will be gone very soon. We don’t have a PF government but the MMD government. They control key positions in government. So for us as Copperbelt youths, we will support leaders that want to sustain the vision of PF not MMD,” s

aid Chanda.

PF members from Eastern Province, supported by Northern and North Western provinces, have petitioned President Lungu to drop Mutati. When receiving the petition, PF secretary general Davies Mwila told MMD members in the PF to choose between the ruling party and their party.

He also demanded total loyalty to President Lungu.

The development has come barely a week after some MMD members in Eastern Province defected back to the former ruling party and denounced the PF leadership for allegedly using and abandoning them. They also declared that MMD is now regrouping. The PF and former president Rupiah Banda are believed to have used Mutati to get the MMD leadership from Nevers Mumba ahead of the 2016 general elections.

A convention, which has been challenged in court, was convened by expelled members and Mutati was chosen as party leader and immediately, Banda flew to Lusaka and announced at a PF rally that the MMD had chosen the right leader and pledged support for the PF in the August 11 elections.

Sources have however disclosed that the anti-Mutati protests were being sponsored by State House as he was viewed a threat to the presidency.