So Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba is not eyeing the 2016 Patriotic Front Presidential ticket. Wynter Kabimba too is not thinking about contesting. Not that anyone can vote for Kabimba in any electable election but he is beginning to fall for his own illusions.
And the politically shrewd Kabwata Member of Parliament Given Lubinda is also not talking that yet. So if that is the case why is the country being treated to the President Michael Sata succession drama?
GBM is scouring the length and breadth of Zambia preaching about not positioning himself to succeed Sata while Kabimba has through his henchman Geoffrey Chuumbwe been throwing innuendos at GBM and co saying no one should endorse Sata while they have also been quietly strengthening their position addressing gatherings under the guise of party mobilization.
It is a debate that has refused to die, why? Because there is indeed a subtle campaign by the trinity – GBM, Kabimba and to a lesser extent neutrals vouching for Lubinda to stead himself.
And GBM who has been on a national wide campaign carefully guised as a re-elect Sata crusade finally broke the ice on what his tour is all about.
“We know that there is a scheme by certain people who have teamed up, who already are saying that President Sata; in fact some of them are saying that President Sata will die before 2016,” rumbled GBM.
“So it is about time that they started positioning themselves which is very, very unfortunate.”
Before you lose sight of where GBM is coming from, why has he anointed himself the messenger of Sata’s status? And is it true that people in PF are saying Sata will die before 2016? Is this really the case?
Anyway, GBM’s presidential ambitions are a matter of public record and all he has been saying is to wash away the talk. He confesses that is that he will wait for Sata to step aside. Has GBM now got that information? Why is he stepping up gear?
Simple, because GBM is positioning himself for 2016 in a very cunning way that only the dumb cannot peer through. Why not be a do-gooder and if disaster strikes he would have been to every nook and cranny of this country and what better camapiagn ammunition than to say, “I so much wanted President Sata to stand” or “I am the only one who spoke for him”.
After all GBM is neither a Patriotic Front spokesperson nor as Miles Sampa helpfully reminded all of us, “I know my colleague is not in the Central Committee but I think he has adequate channels to convey messages. If he thinks the party or presidency is under threat, we can assist him really because it is the duty of everybody to protect the presidency and the party. In my interactions with everybody in the past for the last couple of years, I have not come across somebody I can call a riffraff.” That is Sampa and not us saying it.
And Mwamba, not one to shut up on the presidential discourse volleyed back, “From the way I can read from The Post from what he (Sampa) is saying is that he is also popular enough to challenge President Sata but I tell him that, let him come to Kasama and he will get a rude shock of his life. He will never get even a single vote.”
So who would think Mwamba is not talking succession with him at the helm?
For dear Wynter it has not been so easy to come to the fore and has had to make half hearted denials or seek to neutralize his possible competitors through his clone Chuumbwe. Chuumbwe and co have without success attempted to halt the debate but successfully failed. Reason, because the battle is bigger than Chuumbwe, a low party functionary handpicked to parrot the interest of an interested party zealot like Kabimba.
Halting the debate would mean even Chuumbwe’s master would have to halt his countrywide tour that grants him all access to the 10 provinces with an open wallet. Has not GBM said in the past that Wynter was a late comer in PF? So his DNA is not PF.
It is an argument Given Lubinda seems to be making in subtle fashion.
“See the stories that have been coming from all of us in the PF. It is very clear to see even from the conduct of all of us in the party. You can see that there are some people who are extremely overzealous about positions of leadership, particularly about the presidency,” he said.
Sampa makes interesting observations, “There has not been any question yet on succession and we are not yet there. There is an incumbent who is fully in control. Our priority now should be to deliver. I am speaking as a member of parliament from Matero which contributed the highest vote to the presidency. If someone wants to challenge President Sata, they should come out but that is then in 2016, they should not be stopped,” he said.
“This talk is irrelevant now because it is stating the obvious. If some people want to impress the President, they should do it by concentrating on developmental issues. This talk is ill-timed. This is diverting our attention from the real issues we need to work on. Time to talk about succession will come towards 2016. The President will state himself then.”
Lubinda has inched in on the debate albeit subtly but his commenting are far beyond what he states. “I don’t speak on behalf of the party but as an ordinary small member of the PF. But my position as a member of the party and one who put in a lot, in case some people decide to forget, I put in a lot to build the image of this party.
“I stuck my neck out when it was very popular for people to run away from association with the PF because of its image, because of harassment, I stuck my neck out. So because of the amount of investment I put in the party, I will be the last one to sit back and see things going in a way that is threatening the unity in the party and the success of the government,” said Lubinda certainly taking aim at some presidential aspirants.
“You can see that there are some people who are extremely overzealous about positions of leadership, particularly about the presidency.” We ask, who are these overzealous people the Kabwata parliamentarian is talking about?
“The campaign should not be within the PF but the PF must again be given a second mandate. I don’t think President Sata is impressed with those who are hero-worshiping him. When we go round with endorsements, we are literally attracting adversity. For every force, there is an opposing force. This is not the time. The interest of PF members must be to ensure that the PF succeeds itself in 2016 and the best way to ensure that is done is by ensuring that we are delivering,” he said.
So dear brothers and sisters you only choose to be fooled if you want to because the 2016 presidential debate is not about to die. For one GBM is not about to step his humongous foot off the gas pedal nor is Wynter one to take defeat lying down and of course discount the political mastery of Lubinda at your own peril! And with His Excellency staying mute on the subject, it could be one for the media to feast on for a long time.
The post Opinion: The PF Presidential Succession Axis appeared first on Zambia Reports.