PF Secretary General Davies Mwila says PF has a huge responsibility of ensuring that President Edgar Lungu retains State House in 2021, at all costs.
Meanwhile, Kapoche PF member of parliament
Charles Banda has urged the party members in the
province to vote massively and not leave room for the opposition to amass votes as 2021 approaches.
Speaking when he addressed party officials in Chipata, Thursday, Mwila urged the party to ignore sentiments by Chief Mukuni that
President Lungu has opted out of the 2021 race.
“As a party, we value your contribution to the party but I have always said that the President’s support should start from here because this is where he comes from and I am not trying to be tribal, I am just trying to be
factual. The support, this is the constituency of the President, the support must start from here then it goes to Luapula, Muchinga, Northern, Copperbelt and Lusaka. So it is up to you colleagues to start or continue mobilizing the party, the strength of the party lies in the branches and the section. We made a decision
as central committee to run with President Edgar Lungu as candidate for 2021. That is the decision that we have made and there is no change to that so what you are hearing from the social media, Chief Mukuni, let him mind his own
business, let him talk about their candidate in UPND. So he must leave PF alone, we have already decided please Chief Mukuni, leave us alone!
This is our party, you belong to UPND. So forget about what Mukuni said, let him just continue looking after his people in Kazungula. The job ahead of us is too big, we have to retain the President in State House at all costs,” Mwila said.
“So our job, as officials, let’s start taking our children before 2021 to get NRCs so that we prepare our children for them to come and register for 2021 election. This is very important, we have to register people above one million this time, we were around 778,000,
and we have to be above one million. We have to be at par with Southern Province in terms of registration, in terms of voting so the job is with you. I don’t want when I go, I hear that all the officials have gone to sleep. Please, you have to start work now. Take your children as officials, the ward officials, the constituency officials and district officials.”

Meanwhile, Mwila has
called on Ifranstructure
Development Minister
Vincent Mwale to work on
the Chipata-Lundazi and
Chipata-Chadiza roads saying
they are “political roads”.
“And Minister, can you work on
the Chipata-Lundazi road, can
you work on Chipata-Chadiza
road. Those are political roads,
once you work on those roads
Honorable Minister, we are
done. So we still have time,
let’s reorganize ourselves, we
have the mandate from the
people to lead this country and
we have two more years to go.
So minister, you are coming
from this province, I am not
trying to be tribal but you are
a capable minister and you
will do what I have just said.
So as a party in government,
we are geared to retain power
at all costs because the people
of Zambia have seen what
we are doing,” said Mwila.
“But above all, we need
discipline. For us to work
effectively, mobilize the people,
bring people together, we need
discipline amongst ourselves.
This is the province for the
President and discipline must
start from here. Let us reserve
our energies to fight the UPND
and I don’t mean to fight them
physically. The projection
for Electoral Commission of
Zambia, they want to register 9
million voters, 2016 we were 6
million so they want to increase
by 50 per cent. So going by the
strongholds or the provinces
that we have, we have to make
sure that we get more than
6 million to ourselves. Let’s
leave one million to UPND.”
And Banda said the party
should work harder and not
leave room for opposition to
gain ground in the province.
“Eastern province, ndise
bamene tiza winisa aPresident
Edgar Chagwa Lungu mu
2021 (we are the ones who
are going to make President
Lungu win in 2021), everyone
knows. Kuno, osati tikachite
vingazi vamene tima chita
kuti mu constituency (here
this time around we shouldn’t
play games that we always play
whereby) you find President
Lungu 7,000 votes Hakainde
[Hichilema] 6,000 votes then
there is nothing we would
have done. Our colleagues
in their areas give us 9 votes.
Remember the by-election in Mazabuka ward? They got 9,900 and we got 3 votes. But
if it was here, we were going
to give the UPND councilor 1,000 plus and yet we are getting 3 votes. Akuti muzako
akaku chenjelela po gona,
mu chenjelele po uka, tiyeni
tigalamuke (they say when
your friend surpasses you
when sleeping, surpass him
when waking up, let us wake
up from our slumber). So 2021
tifakeko nzelu (Let us work
harder),” said Banda.