No honeymoon – Given

KABWATA legislator Given Lubinda has described as “breath of fresh air” Mulenga Sata’s election to the crucial position of Lusaka district PF chairperson after sailing through unopposed on Saturday.
Mr Lubinda, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, said Mr Sata’s election has brought a huge amount of confidence amongst members of the district party leadership, which shall inevitably spill over to the provincial leadership.
“Mulenga brings to the table a new blend of mature leadership that is issue-based and we shall give him all the support he needs,” Mr Lubinda said. “The fact that he has preached nothing but politics of love since his ascendency even gives us more confidence that things will move forward progressively.”
Mr Lubinda, who gave Mr Sata advice, said the will of the people has prevailed.
“There is no time for honeymoon for Mulenga. After a period of turmoil in the PF for about a year, Mulenga must immediately get down to work,” said Mr Lubinda.
Mr Lubinda said Mr Sata, who is also deputy mayor of Lusaka and son of the President, must stay in touch with all the constituencies and wards in order to foster unity and love.
“Not everyone celebrated Mulenga’s victory. Some people were not happy to see him ascend to that crucial position,” he said, adding that the deputy mayor nevertheless excelled against all odds.
Mr Lubinda in retrospect regretted that confusion had once engulfed the Lusaka district party leadership but expressed joy that with Mulenga at the helm, sanity is likely to return at last.
“Mulenga must be wary of every party leader he deals with regardless of their positions in order to avoid being influenced to make irrational and even partial decisions,” he said.
Mr Lubinda, however, said having known Mr Sata for a long time and watched him never at one point use his (Mulenga) name to gain pecuniary advantage, he had confidence the district was in right hands.
“I have known Mulenga from the time his father was governor. He never used to move with his father’s picture in his wallet. Mulenga is an individual and a citizen of this country with equal rights,” he said.
Mr Lubinda said Mr Sata is not power hungry as the position of mayor is civic.
He however urged Mr Sata to remain humble and consult widely as his decisions will be scrutinised.
“This is not a harmonious transition, it is an acrimonious one. So Mulenga must ensure that he redeems party resources otherwise when time for him to hand over comes, he will have to account for party resources,” Mr Lubinda said.
He said Mr Sata however has an easy task of starting a new page by loving and embracing everyone.
“Mulenga must bring us all together. He must not only have an open door policy, but he must open the door to his house and the door to his car,” Mr Lubinda said.
He assured Mr Sata of his total support.
Mr Sata recorded a run-away victory on Saturday after his sole contender Goodson Banda decided to thrown in the towel at the very last minute.
Mr Sata says he wants to unite rather than divide the ruling party at the district level and he shall embrace everybody including those with divergent views.
And Stephen Kampyongo, the deputy minister of home affairs who assisted in keeping order during the election described the proceedings as “safe” and that all measures put in place to ensure maximum security yielded positive results.
“Our alert police must be thanked for ensuring that everybody was safe during the polls. We cherish nothing but peace,” Mr Kampyongo said.

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