It is unattainable to belong to two political parties, President Edgar Lungu has said. The President said there are some people who cling to the Patriotic Front (PF) yet they claim to belong elsewhere. “You cannot hold on to two political parties, you either belong to one or the other.

So, decide where you want to belong. If you erred and want to come back, simply apologise and we will forgive you,” he said. President Lungu was speaking at Mansa airport yesterday when he made a stop-over on his way to Lupososhi in Northern Province.

He said politics is about being decisive and not belonging to two worlds. The President was prompted to talk about being decisive when he saw a poster reading: ‘[Harry] Kalaba is a liability. Help us hound him out’. Mr Lungu instead advised members to follow the law when removing undesirable officials from the party. Speaking earlier, Luapula Province Minister Nickson Chilangwa said it is always encouraging to see President Lungu in the area. Mr Chilangwa is also PF chairperson for Luapula Province. He said the party is intact in the province and that farmers have started cultivating their fields because the inputs have been delivered on time.

Meanwhile, President Lungu is tired of pleading with the United Party for National Development (UPND) in fostering development of the country.
“Do not force us to work with the UPND because they have rejected us. So, I will not waste time thinking about the UPND,” he said.
President Lungu was speaking at a rally to drum up support for PF candidate John Kwandangala in the council chairperson election slated for Tuesday.
Two other political parties, the UPND and National Democratic Congress (NDC), are contesting the election, which was necessitated by the creation of Lupososhi as a district. The UPND has adopted Valentine Kalebwe while NDC has fielded John Mulenga. The President chronicled instances when the UPND has rejected working with him.

“Not a long time ago, I was in Kafue for the ‘Keep Zambia Clean, Green and Healthy’ campaign and the mayor who is from UPND came to join us. The UPND leadership was upset and suspended him for three months. “In 2015, I created Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock and appointed a UPND Member of Parliament Greyford Moonde as minister but the UPND was not pleased and up to date it is not in good books with him [Mr Moonde]. It was the same thing with Richwell Siamunene, who I appointed as Minister of Defence,” he said.

The President said he will no longer waste time pleading to work with the UPND for the betterment of the nation. “Don’t force me to work with the UPND because they have rejected us [PF]. Yes, we will dialogue but they have to show a lot of commitment,” he said. Mr Lungu said the UPND has been stopping its members from working with Government. The President has since returned to Lusaka.