( Zedland News ) H.H & GBM For 2021 Wait For It || Zedlandmusic

IT’S clear that we want Hakainde Hichilema to be our presidential candidate for the next general elections, says opposition UPND vice-president Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba.
And Mwamba, popularly known as GBM, says he can never go back to PF to be insulted by President Edgar Lungu and his cronies.

He said in an interview that Hichilema was a man of his word, principled, and had respect for all.
“Our preferred presidential candidate is Hakainde Hichilema…no doubt about that and it is not debatable. That is one thing we should know or Zambians should know.

For us, we have settled for Hakainde Hichilema the way PF members have also settled for President Edgar Lungu, so there is nothing sinister about that. It’s clear that we want Hakainde Hichilema to be our presidential candidate for the next general elections,” GBM said.

He said he was solidly behind the leadership of Hichilema.
“Let me tell you something, I have closed all my businesses in this country. I am outside this country and I am doing extremely well. This is not the first time that a [Republican] president has shut down my businesses.

I am used to it and I have emerged a victor. Ask RB (former president Rupiah Banda), [late president] Fredrick Chiluba, they did the same but you see, I am always ahead of them. I am very comfortable and I will always be comfortable. Before PF, I was a very comfortable man. My resources made PF form government.

The people that were insulting [late president Michael] Sata are the ones who are enjoying the fruits of PF. But that doesn’t worry me. Everything has got time but what I want to say is that I can never go back to PF. I am still a bona fide member of the UPND. Look at the respect that I enjoy in the UPND, which I can’t enjoy in PF,” GBM said.

“Look at what PF is doing to Miles Sampa (Lusaka Mayor)! Sampa in his little way when he was working for Finance Bank, contributed to ensure that PF formed government. He used to buy Sata talk time and other things…but he is not appreciated. Do you think I would also go back to get the same treatment? No, I can’t.

I am beyond that. I am comfortable with UPND and this is a party I hold in very high esteem…Sometimes also, we need people like GBM, Hakainde Hichilema who cannot easily be bought. Look at how many people have been bought. It’s because of starvation. Njala yabanyokola that is why they are going back to PF. But a person like GBM who is [financially] strong locally and internationally…when I walk into a foreign country, it’s like I am home.

I don’t feel it because I have got everything that a person needs. What Edgar can do, if he can charter a plane to Europe, America, I can also charter a plane. He can’t buy me; I cannot be bought for a million dollar or US $10 million. I can say I have got more than that. I can say I don’t need the money. I don’t need to be corrupt.”

He said he enjoys working with Hichilema, whom he said “is a man of his word, principled and he has respect for all.”
Asked why he has been quiet and what he was up to, GBM said: “I have just been observing what is happening in our beautiful but destroyed country.

Our country has been destroyed economically, politically…a lot of things have gone wrong. You may think that I have been quiet but I have just been observing. I also blame you the media. You do not want to utilise me. I have got information that I would like to disseminate to the people of Zambia.

You the media must be mindful that we politicians have a lot to do. We have to nurture our politics and not only that, we have to deal with a lot of issues surrounding the political atmosphere in the country.

A lot has gone wrong in the last few years that the PF has been in government under the leadership of President Edgar Lungu.”
He said it was incorrect to say that the UPND was not mobilising and that it did not know how to win elections.

“We know what we are doing. In 36 months, anything can happen…a lot of things can happen. Zambians will realise that they ushered in a wrong government. As far as we are concerned, we are right on track as UPND. We know what we are doing and our supporters should be comfortable that the leadership knows what it’s doing.

On the issue of the congress, it’s just a matter of time. We are considering that. We are yet to meet the National Management Committee and we will be doing it very soon. We will be able to tell the nation when we will be going for a convention.

But let me be quick to mention that even if we go for a convention, our preferred presidential candidate is Hakainde Hichilema…,” GBM said.
On the issue of UPND councillors and other members defecting to PF, he said it was hunger.
“I came from MMD, then PF, and now UPND…we always see these things. These things (defections) don’t frighten us at all.

Certain people, certain characters are hungry and they cannot sustain their families even themselves up to 2021,” GBM said. “What do they do? They have to go back to PF and when they go back; don’t think that they have gone there wholeheartedly, no! They just want to eat for now.

Come 2021, they will come back to where they belong. That is not our worry. Look at what happened in 2009 when I stood as MP in Kasama, all the by-elections were won by MMD apart from my Kasama Constituency election where of course I had put in a lot of money…RB [Rupiah Banda] also put in a lot of money and of course I had money…and I won that election. I also went into Mporokoso as campaign manager and we won.”
He noted it was difficult for the PF to win most of the by-elections when MMD was in power.

“Even UPND, these artificial defections will not scare us at all. These are people who just want to eat and they can go and eat. We know that they will come back. Some of them are telling us to say ‘tifuna chabe tidyeko nabeve naise’ (We also want to eat with them for now).

They are saying they cannot fight up to 2021 and we understand and accept. This is not something that is new to us. I have personally gone through this, so it doesn’t scare me at all. Just watch the space. Come 2020, you will see what will happen; political tide will change.

We have not run out of ideas as others think. That is what they can say. Why is PF so scared of UPND? Why is PF demonising Hakainde Hichilema if he is a political nonentity?

What you should know is that they are so scared of UPND. They are trying by all means to portray to the public that UPND has run out of ideas, that UPND is finished…it is not finished. If it’s finished, let them stop talking about it the way they don’t talk about these little political parties,” GBM said.

“The PF has no strategy that can overwhelm us…which strategy? The Sunday Chanda strategy? I have worked with Chanda…he was my chola boy including Emmanuel Mwamba, they were my chola boys. So, I know their strategy so we sit quietly, we know what we are doing and we do not want to expose ourselves. We don’t want people to know what we are up to. If they think their strategy has overwhelmed us, let them think like that.

In politics, sometimes you just have to sit and watch. The people of Zambia themselves…some of them voted for PF so we want them to see what they voted for because when we talk about it, do you know what the PF will do? They will work on it…they will perfect it. So, first of all, we want them to go through it.

Our time will come and it’s not far from now. Strategies change, probably my strategy now is to first of all lie low but doing something underground.”