What is it that makes it so easy for top leaders in UPND and PF to crisscross – to move back and forth?
We have had the vice-president of UPND for many years Richard Kapita move to PF and become a provincial minister. Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba moved from PF to become vice-president of UPND and move back again to be a member of the PF Central Committee. Charles Kakoma was UPND’s spokesperson for many years and today he has joined the PF and he is a member of its Central Committee. The list goes on.
How can one explain this phenomenon?
We turn to State Counsel John Sangwa for an explanation:
“When you make a decision to be PF or to be UPND, there’s something about PF that you like and there’s something about UPND that you like – that will make you to say okay, I will go to PF as opposed to UPND. Or I will go to UPND as opposed to PF. That should be the thinking of the membership. But unfortunately, these two political parties have not even articulated their differences because I can ask you maybe…If you ask me what does the PF believe in and what does the UPND believe in. I would have a problem in answering that question. The only difference would be the fact that well UPND is led by HH and the other one is led by ECL. For me that will be the only major difference. What about policies? What kind of values do they have? What kind if principles do these parties have? They haven’t been articulated. And that’s why it is so easy for somebody to jump from one political party to another political party because there’s no clear cut principles and values. Maybe the only distinction is my friend’s political party, which is the Socialist Party which has a clearly set agenda which distinguishes itself from the others. It has given it its own identity. They have articulated their position to say, fine we are Socialist Party and this is what we stand for. Now for you to go socialist, it means you must buy into the values of the Socialist Party. Now when you look at the UPND, look at the PF, what is it that distinguishes them in terms of policies?”
How else or best can one explain it?
We are seeking more views, discourse on this issue.