By NATION REPORTERS
THE United Party for National Development (UPND), like other political parties that have governed before shall not be in power forever and President Hakainde Hichilema shall certainly become a former Head State and will certainly not wish to be subjected to what former leaders in the Patriotic Front are going through, Stephen Kampyongo has said.
And Mr Kampyongo said he would not wish ministers serving in the UPND administration to become victims of the law enforcement agencies after leaving political offices, saying the culture of pursuing political leaders after leaving office under the guise of fighting corruption should end.
Mr Kampyongo said it was his desire and wish that those who are serving as ministers should not become victims of a political witch-hunt and dehumanisation after leaving office but should instead exit gracefully without being hunted.
He said being in leadership was a privilege bestowed by citizens and that it was important to serve Zambians to the best of their ability.
“”We must appreciate each other being leadership. That is the authority given to us by fellow citizens. We should be humble enough to know that we do not possess the monopoly of wisdom and in our quest to serve fellow citizens, we are equally prone to making mistakes. “The UPND like other political parties that governed Zambia before shall not be in power in perpetuity and President Hichilema will certainly be a former president and the UPND will be a former ruling party. So let us remember the biblical adage of do unto others as you would wat them do unto you,” Mr Kampyongo said.
He explained how political parties had cascaded in the country since the introduction of plural politics, explaining that UNIP ruled Zambia Dr Kenneth Kaunda as president for 27 years before the MMD that governed the country for 20 years with three distinguished leaders, Frederick Titus Jacob Chiluba, Levy Mwanawasa and Rupiah Bwezani Banda.
He said after the MMD, the PF took over the governance of the country and that the former ruling party presided over the affairs of the country for 10 years before being replaced by the UPND, now in government.
“That is how Zambia has been governed since independence. And who knows, it could be five years for the UPND and my colleague and brother, Cornelius Mweetwa is being realistic when he says the UPND shall not be in power in perpetuity. The UPND is on a tour of duty and it has the beginning and the end. My wish is that we must build a culture where there is smooth handover at all levels from the presidency down to ministers and permanent secretaries,” Mr Kampyongo said.