During a visit this week to Southern Province, Zambian President Michael Sata went on a renewed attack against the opposition, foreshadowing upcoming parliamentary by-elections in the Sinazongwe and Itezhi Tezhi.
Speaking before an assembled crowd in Choma, the stronghold of opposition United Party for National Development (UPND), President Sata attacked leader Hakainde Hichilema, accusing him of misleading the people of Southern Province by saying that the PF was running a “Bemba government.”
Mr Sata said he had appointed 10 ministers out of his over 80 cabinet from the Tonga speaking grouping.
The President also conferred with 27 chiefs that he lobbied to give him PF members of parliament as he continues his crusade to weaken the opposition.
He said that Southern Province had lagged behind for sticking to the opposition for over 10 years, indicating that they abandoned their local leaders, that the central government may be inclined to invest more in their province.
Mr Sata, who spent 10 years in the opposition, said the people of Southern Province should vote for the ruling party if they want to have development in their area.
The tour that was held under the guise of the christening of Choma as a provincial capital, which was a recent decision taken by the PF government to help “decentralize” the administration of the area. However, critics have pointed out that the re-districting was a political design to weaken opposition parties. The Choma celebration, however, very quickly turned into a political rally of sorts, where a variety of local PF figures took to the stage to denounce the opposition.
Newly anointed provincial minister Daniel Munkombwe held a lavish feast at Chief Chikanta’s area where he promised to wipe out the opposition, and sought to attract villagers over to the side of the ruling party.
The upcoming by-elections in Southern Province, which represent a record high number of unnecessary polls due to the ruling party’s frequent petitioning of results, are expected to feature a heightened level of campaign spending and PF presence as the party seeks to take over a rubberstamp majority of the parliament.
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