LEAVE GBM ALONE

MMD Copperbelt Information and Publicity Secretary Mr. Peter Phiri has told the Patriotic Front to come up with a more intelligent campaign strategy and message than bore the whole nation with their attacks on UPND Vice-President who is Hakainde Hichilema’s running mate, Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba, popularly known as GBM.

Mr. Phiri has said the PF is well-advised to instead address their own running mate Mrs. Inonge Wina and ask her to remove the controversy surrounding the Barotseland Agreement and tell her to release the Roger Chongwe Commission of Enquiry report, on which thousands of taxpayer’s money was wasted, which the PF swept under the carpet.

In addition Mr. Phiri has challenged the PF running mate to begin her campaign by explaining the position of the Lozi group which has been agitating to break away from Zambia to form a new state, threatening to bring confusion to the nation.

He said the MMD would like to educate the PF to engage in high quality issue-based political debate rather than have entire senior members of the party like Dora Siliya and Chishimba Kambwili dwell so much on GBM instead of offering solutions on real issues that are affecting the people such as the loss of jobs on the Copperbelt, the escalating prices of food especially mealie meal and the deteriorating exchange rate which is causing biting inflation.

He said the PF should know that the choice of a running mate in any party is the prerogative of that party’s president and the PF cannot be allowed to pre-occupy the whole nation on GBM and instead should admit to the nation that they have run out of meaningful campaign messages for this year’s elections beyond the ‘sonta po’ message.