EASTERN Province minister Makebi Zulu says some party members tend to be a burden on the pockets of members of parliament.

And councillors in Eastern Province say they are being demeaned by some civil servants who are working in isolation. Speaking when party secretary general Davies Mwila launched intra-party elections in the province on Monday, Zulu, who is Malambo member of parliament, said parliamentarians in the province were hardworking.

“The MPs that we have in Eastern Province are very hardworking but sometimes they are limited because of the demands from the party. I am not saying everyone but some party members tend to be a burden on the pockets of the MPs. I am not saying all of us, kuli bayakine (there others) that have been stressful to the MPs such that some MPs have found it difficult to go there,” Zulu said.

He also said they were engaging as members of parliament and would decide how best they could work together.

“Very soon, secretary general, you will be seeing us hanging out together, visiting different constituencies and explaining government
policies to the people to show the unity that we have in the PF,” Zulu said.
He said the PF was peaceful in the province under the chairmanship of Andrew Lubusha.

“We have become very attractive as a party such that a lot of people want to contest on our party ticket. Each and every person who stands on the PF is definitely winning not because they are popular but because the party has become popular. In Eastern Province, loyalties to individuals are long gone, we are now a people that are loyal to the party,” Zulu said.
He said UNIP stayed long in the province because people were loyal to the party and not individuals. Zulu said when others went with money, the party members ‘donti kubeba’ them by eating their money but they still remain loyal to the PF because it was not for sale.

And in a speech read on behalf of other councilors, councilor Bernard Mvula of Katete said the party was strong at ward level but
complained that councilors were not being recognized.
“We have realized that councilors in most districts are not being recognized, they are being demeaned. We are seeing civil servants who are working in isolation from the councilors and this is affecting the performance of councilors and we feel it will furthermore affect the delivery of our campaign promise as a party,” Mvula said.

The councilors accused some members of parliament, district commissioners and council chairpersons of working with some parallel structures in various districts.

“If you allow me to talk about some DCs, they seem as though they have not come from this party, they drive around windows closed and people are complaining. Some council chairmen have actually forgotten that they are political people; they are more of civil servants and they are therefore distancing themselves from political duties; they are not working with us councilors, they are always fighting us. This, honourable SG, must come to your attention,” Mvula said.
He urged government to work on the consistency of the Constituency Development Fund and to revise the equalisation fund.
Mvula appealed to government to build offices for councilors in every ward.