MPOMBO PROTESTS NEVERS MUMBA’S APPOINTMENT

By Lumbiwe Mwanza

THE United Party for National Development (UPND) Government should move away from parameters of partisan appointments and cast their net widely to capture eminent qualified persons to undertake certain assignments, says Former Defence Minister George Mpombo.

Recently, President Hakainde Hichilema appointed Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD) president Nevers Mumba as Chair of the SADC Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation and Head of Mission of the SADC Electoral Observer Mission in Harare, Zimbabwe.

But Dr. Mpombo has protested the appointment saying it was noticeable that such appointments had been done on partisan lines and that this should be reconsidered.

He said that as the previous regimes also made some appointments based on partisan lines, the UPND should set the bar high and move away from such partisan types of appointments.

“When you talk about these international assignments, there are so many eminent people that can be assigned. The appointment of Dr. Mumba is a payback time for him as he has been loyal to the ruling party. However, if the UPND had put the partisan lines behind them, they would have widened their net in terms of headhunting,” Dr. Mpombo said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Mpombo has downplayed the excitement among opposition political parties jostling to take over form the UPND saying the 2026 elections were far from being “a walk in the park” as some were made to believe unless they put their differences and egos aside and decide to work together.

He said without a formidable collision among opposition political parties, there will be no regime change in 2026 as most of the political parties disillusioned save for the Socialist Party which he said was showing signs of leadership while the Patriotic Front (PF) was stuck in its cocoon of being leaderless.

He said that currently, the Sociality Party is the only opposition political party showing some formidable signs of popularity on the ground as they had shown a bit of leadership skills.

“Unless the PF puts its house in order, the only opposition political party showing some formidable popularity is the Socialist Party as they have shown some strong type of leadership but even then, they are not capable of dislodging the UPND in 2026. For the general elections in 2026, there will be a need for a collision effort as it will not be a stroll in the garden,” he said.