. Lungu

By MILDRED KATONGO –
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has challenged the opposition United party for National Development (UPND) to go for a convention and check their leader Hakainde Hichilema.
President Lungu said if leaders were not accepted by the people they should not force themselves and that Zambia was not ready for that kind of leadership.
He was speaking in Luanshya yesterday during a rally held to drum up support for the Patriotic Front (PF) aspiring candidates.
President Lungu said if the opposition party was democratic they would have gone for a convention and voted for another person.
He said leadership comes from God and that when God says yes no one would say no and that Mr Hichilema’s time to rule had not yet come.
“I have on several occasions asked my friends in the UPND to exercise democracy and go for a convention. You cannot continue to repeat a mistake by voting for one and the same person. Zambia is not ready for such kind of leadership. God gives leadership and he has given me to rule Zambia, give me another chance to rule and continue on the developmental projects that the late president Michael Sata left,” he said.
President Lungu also assured Luanshya residents that the presidential initiative for marketeers would soon benefit the people in the area.
He said the opposition party should not cheat them that the programme was political but that it was a programme  aimed at helping maketeers boost their business.
The President also said that the PF would ensure that the challenges of water and sanitation in the area came to an end.
He said he was working hard to make Zambia a better place for everyone to live in as evidenced from the developmental projects Government had embarked on.
President Lungu asked the people in Luanshya to vote for the PF for continued developmental projects.
Roan aspiring candidate Chishimba Kambwili said President Lungu was a chosen leader and that the people in Luanshya should vote for him on August 11.
Mr Kambwili said the people in Luanshya have witnessed a lot of developmental projects and that they should vote Mr Lungu.
Meanwhile President Lungu has said that he will not shed blood or cause loss of life in order to remain in office.
He said the escalation of political violence witnessed in the last one week was worrying and that as PF leader he would not allow anyone to cause loss of life in order to get into State House.
He said at Simon Mwansa Kapwepwe Airport in Ndola yesterday that that the PF was resolved to uphold peace.
“like I said, I will not allow the PF to shed blood or indeed cause loss of life on my account. I will also not allow anyone to cause loss of life in order for them to get into office. As PF let us resolve to be law abiding citizens and hope the police will do their best in maintaining law and order,” he said.
President Lungu said he was aware that the opposition political party would not accept defeat because they had already lost.
He said it was their right not to accept defeat but it would be dealt with if they caused anarchy in the country.
“I am aware that others will not accept defeat because they have already lost. We are not going to play a blame game. It is their right not to accept defeat but if they cause anarchy in the country we will deal with them,”he said.