. Lungu

By REBECCA MUSHOTA and CHILA NAMAIKO –
AN independent candidate in this year’s election has said that many candidates vying for Parliamentary seats as independents are backing President Edgar Lungu because he is the best presidential candidate.
Evans Ngoma, who is an independent candidate in Lundazi Constituency, said that he and many other independent candidates were backing President Lungu because he was the best presidential candidate.
Mr Ngoma was speaking on Thursday when he featured on Lusaka’s 5FM Radio on a programme called The Platform.
“I decided to back him because he is the best. He is the best among the others and even other independent candidates will tell you that he is the best and that is why they are campaigning for him,” he said.
Mr Ngoma said he was campaigning for President Lungu in Lundazi and it was clear that most voters there would vote for him.
He said President Lungu had continued with various developmental projects that he found running when he became Head of State and he had embarked on his own projects.
Mr Ngoma said Mr Lungu was a popular candidate because he was a good leader who believed in consulting the public.
He said he was also hopeful that he would win the Lundazi seat because he was popular in the district.
People were aware of the many things he was able to do for them and that was why they wanted him to stand as Member of Parliament.
“People wanted me to stand on the PF (Patriotic Front) ticket but when I was not adopted, people still told me to stand,” Mr Ngoma said.
Meanwhile, Kabushi constituency Patriotic Front (PF) candidate Bowman Lusambo says President Lungu deserves a full five-year mandate to enable him initiate more empowerment programmes and projects to improve the living standards of youths in the country.
Mr Lusambo said that, in Mr Lungu’s national development agenda, the Head of State had shown commitment to uplifting the welfare of youths and women across the country.
Mr Lusambo said that many youths had continued to benefit from many viable programmes that the Government was implementing to reduce the levels of vulnerability among youths and women.
“A lot of youths are benefitting from empowerment programmes. I think there is need to give Mr Lungu a fresh mandate for him to continue improving the livelihood of youths,” he said in an interview.
He cited the youths who had been applying for the youth empowerment funds as having continued to benefit from self-sustaining projects such as goat and chicken rearing.
Mr Lusambo cautioned the young people against being used as tools of political violence and other immoral vices ahead of the August 11 general elections.