Mkaika candidate was wrong, says PF bigwig

PATRIOTIC Front central committee member Ngosa Simbyakula says the choice of the candidate in the Mkaika by-election contributed to the party’s loss.
Dr Simbyakula said the Mkaika loss is a lesson for the party’s central committee to listen to the people on the ground when it comes to appointing a candidate.
He said the imposing of candidates has not been working well, hence the need to let the people choose a candidate of their choice.
Dr Simbyakula, who is also Justice Deputy Minister, said if a wrong candidate is chosen, it is very difficult for the party to win a by-election.
The deputy minister said this in Ndola yesterday when he addressed PF members at the Ndola district conference at the Trade Fair grounds.
“The Mkaika loss was bad and does not speak well about the party,” he said.
He said candidates must come from the grassroots to ensure that they are chosen by the people themselves and not imposed.
Dr Simbyakula said defectors from other parties must be embraced but long-term members must be given first priority when it comes to party positions.
He urged members to make strong structures on the ground to ensure that the party remains strong and is able to win any by-election that will come by.
Dr Simbyakula praised PF members of Ndola for organising the first ever conference for its district members and called on other districts to do the same.
He said the PF has also started political education for members to enable them to become better administrators for the party.
And the deputy minister, who is also National Project for Poverty Reduction – a PF subsidiary organisation – chairman, said the organisation would soon train 600 PF women and youth in different skills to empower them.