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FR BWALYA LEAVES CHANGE LIFE ZAMBIA, FORMS NEW ORGANISATION

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

By ZAMBIA NEWS FEATURES CORRESPONDENT

FATHER Frank Bwalya has moved operations of Change Life Zambia (CLZ) to a new organisation to be called Get Involved Zambia (GIZ).

The former priest who fell out with some his colleagues on Change Life Zambia who claimed that the organisation did not have the position of Executive Director for which Father Bwalya went by, confirmed to Zambia News Features the formation of the new organisation.

“I have not broken away (from CLZ) per se,” Father Bwalya said and explained the genesis of CLZ from which he was left out on the list of directors when it was registered at the Patents and Company Registration Agency (PACRA) just over two years ago.

In an earlier text message, he wrote: “Please be informed that I have formed a different organisation called Get Involved Zambia. So all have moved to this new one. Fr Bwalya.”

Father Bwalya has been embroiled in controversy with the MMD from the time CLZ launched the Red Card campaign to kick out President Rupiah Banda and the MMD in this year’s forthcoming elections.

CLZ directors, John Chilima Kasongo, Laston Chama, Fidelis Chumbu Mbalazi and Paul Mwamba. recently sued Father Bwalya for allegedly illegally holding the position of executive director and using the organisation for political activities. (Read more here)

He was forced to relinquish his position as Catholic Church-run Radio Icengelo station manager and soon after went on sabbatical leave from his pastoral duties at Kitwe’s Ipusukilo parish.

Father Bwalya who has campaigned for the UPND/PF pact, has been accused by MMD supporters of being PF and the Red Card campaign a ploy to campaign for its leader, Michael Sata.

He has recently been accused of fathering a child with a Ndola woman whom she worked with at the radio station but sources told Zambia News Features that he is ready to go for a DNA test to determine the partenity of the child.

(Please contact us on editor@zambianewsfeatures.com)

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FATHER BWALYA CALLS FOR COMMON SENSE ON PACT LEADERSHIP

Monday, November 1st, 2010

By ZAMBIA NEWS FEATURES CORRESPONDENT

CHANGE Life Zambia (CLZ) is disappointed with the opposition UPND/PF Pact for failing to “use conventional wisdom and common sense” to resolve the issue of the Pact leadership.

CLZ executive director, Father Frank Bwalya, said in a press statement made available to the Zambia News Features Monday, that good leadership should by now not only strengthened the Pact but also expanded it to include other willing and patriotic opposition patriotic parties.

Father Bwalya whose CLZ endorsed the Pact when it was officially launched last June, said recent developments in the Pact made the civic organisation to believe that the two parties rushed into announcing its formation before addressing relevant issues.

“Moreover, the manner of handling the issue of who is more popular than the other between them has made us lose confidence in the leadership of the Pact,” Father Bwalya said.

UPND is led by Haikainde Hichilema while the PF is led by veteran politician Michael Sata and the two parties have largely avoided competing against each other in parliamentary and local government elections that have been held in the last two years.

The CLZ leader, however, threatened to withdraw his organisation’s support of the Pact if the leadership fail to amicably and expediently deal with issues that have caused the differences.

“We appreciate the fact that we can’t succeed in forcing or indeed begging PF and UPND to work together when they exhibit unwillingness to resolve issues which seem to separate them,” Father Bwalya said.

The Catholic prelate who is currently on leave absence from preaching duties, said in the statement that since 2001 Zambians have been consistently rejecting the MMD as shown by the combined results of the past elections apparently because the ruling party has abandoned its 1991 dream and become corrupt and dictatorial.

Father Bwalya said it was against this backdrop that many Zambians have been calling for unity among opposition parties to liberate the people from the MMD.

(Edited by Gershom Ndhlovu. Contact us at editor@zambianewsfeatures.com)

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UPND, PF PACT WORKING ON HARMONISED MANIFESTO?

Sunday, July 4th, 2010

By ZAMBIA NEWS FEATURES CORRESPONDENT

UPND and PF who are members of the opposition Pact are now working on harmonizing their manifestos, the Zambia News Features has learnt.

A source close to the PF said a few days ago: “I am told that the PF/UPND harmonised manifesto is being written as we speak. It will contain some elements of the 2006 PF Manifesto.”

The source said that PF manifesto had too many wish lists and was not properly coasted “but the key thing you all need to be aware of is that lobbying has apparently begun. People are already writing in to the two parties with their ideas for what change looks like.”

Some of the provisions of the 2006 PF Manifesto include increasing expenditure on education, phasing out basic education and re-introducing a distinct primary, secondary and tertiary education system and embarking on a comprehensive housing development programme which would result in the development new housing estates with all the necessary amenities and facilities in all towns and cities.

PF also promised in its 2006 manifesto to rejuvenate and attract investment in industry, charging that the current emphasis on trade at the expense of industry had led to industrial stagnation and undermined industrial development.

On the other hand, the UPND promises job creation as a high priority for the party, making food such as mealie meal, affordable to all people and ensure that farming inputs such as fertilizer and seed are cheap and available all year round. (Read UPND campaign promises here)

UPND also states that the development of Zambia depends on a high level of education and that the party would secure free and quality education without discrimination up to university level with the government investing in schools, teachers and training.

Zambia News Features could not get comments from UPND and PF spokespersons Charles Kakoma and Winter Kabimba for one reason or other.

The UPND and PF formally launched their pact a few weeks ago but it has been in existence for close to two years. The two opposition parties have been contesting parliamentary and local government elections as a united front which has seen them win crucial seats among them Kasama Central, Solwezi Central and Mufumbwe. The MMD has only won the Milanzi seat during the existence of the Pact. (Read related story here)

The downside to the Pact which the MMD seems to take advantage of is that the alliance has not indicated the leader who is also likely to be the presidential candidate in the 2011 elections and to make matters worse, the UPND president, Hakainde Hichilema, and his PF counterpart, Michael Sata, seem to be campaigning as individual candidates.

(Additional information and edited by Gershom Ndhlovu. Contact Us at editor@zambianewsfeatures.com)

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