By DELPHINE ZULU  and CLEVER ZULU –
THE United Party for National Development (UPND) has denounced Southern Province Minister Daniel Munkombwe’s stance of going into politics for personal gain.
The opposition party has further rejected Mr Munkombwe’s tribal campaigns during a rally in Choma on Tuesday.
Mr Munkombwe told a campaign rally in Choma when he endorsed UPND leader Hakainde Hichilema that the country had been ruled by an easterner and a Bemba before and it was now time for a Tonga president to rule.
But UPND campaign manager Dipak Patel said Mr Munkombwe’s remarks were his own as an individual and not representative of the party.
“Any appeal he made to voters based on tribe is rejected by our campaign completely. The foundation of our message has always been one of national unity, inclusiveness and equality. This is without exception,” Mr Patel said.
Mr Patel added that the selfishness and poor quality leadership of politicians in the past was what had held Zambia back from reaching its potential and that was the reason why the people remained in poverty even though there was a lot of natural wealth within its borders.
“We also stand in direct opposition to past remarks of Mr Munkombwe who has been reported as saying ‘politicians go into Government to eat’. This is in direct contrast to our position,” he added.
The ruling Patriotic Front (PF) has also condemned Mr Munkombwe for his tribal remarks, describing him as an “old politician practising old politics.”
“This generation does not look at tribe but at what a person can do to unify and bring prosperity in the country,” PF secretary general Davies Chama said in an interview.
Mr Chama said tribe did not bring development but divisions in the country. He said his party strongly condemned the tribal remarks.
Meanwhile, the UPND has said it is committed to strengthening relations with neighbouring countries to enhance and broaden the exchange of business opportunities.
Mr Hichilema said Zambia had long held a special place among her neighbours in the region and served as a second home to freedom fighters and eventually became a beacon of democracy and stability in the region.
His government would also secure only the best projects for Zambia, and those that provided the nation with additional revenue for spending on education and healthcare, created jobs and generated opportunities for Zambian businesses.
“These friendships must be maintained at all times and yet in recent years we have perhaps grown distant and somewhat isolated even. This is only to our disadvantage. As UPND we are committed to strengthening those relationships once again and reaffirming our high standing in the region,” Mr Hichilema said.
He said neighbouring countries could be future business partners of Zambia as there were ready markets for exports on each country’s doorstep.
Investment should be encouraged in Zambia but the UPND government would ensure that the local people were empowered first.
Mr Hichilema said Zambia had an important role to play as a peace-loving democratic country endowed with natural resources, beautiful landscapes and a young population ready to drive the country forward.