By CHUSA SICHONE –
NEWLY-APPOINTED Patriotic Front (PF) deputy media director Antonio Mwanza says the current politics of hatred, bitterness and tribalism in Zambia will not develop the country in any way.
Mr Mwanza said that kind of politics should not be entertained in Zambia as it was wrong but that it should instead be focused on issues that could contribute to making Zambia better for all.
Mr Mwanza, who is former Forum for Democracy and Development spokesperson, said this when he featured on the ZNBC television’s Sunday Interview programme.
“We need to have vibrant and strong opposition political parties and we need to have opposition political parties that are driven on ideas, are driven on policies and opposition political parties that are offering alternative policy direction to the Government,” Mr Mwanza said. “We have too much politics of bitterness, hatred and tribalism, that is a wrong politics.”
Mr Mwanza said politics of mudslinging and that focused on frivolous issues was not of any value to Zambia, hence the need to relook at the way local politicians offered their checks and balances.
Mr Mwanza observed that Zambian politics was infiltrated by insults to the extent that some politicians thought that they would be regarded as heroes by insulting President Edgar Lungu.
He urged politicians who were insulting Mr Lungu to have the decency of respecting the Presidency as it was an institution and wondered how Zambians would respect them if they became president one day.
Mr Mwanza further said there was no need for politicians in Zambia to become enemies because they belonged to different political parties but that they should instead develop a culture of talking to one another on issues of ideas, implementation of programmes and service delivery.