And the UPND says Banda has cleverly managed to place his own people in President Lungu’s Cabinet in order to make sure that he is comprehensively informed of policy decisions.
On November 25, 2014, Rupiah Banda appointed Mulusa, a former member of parliament for Solwezi Central, as his campaign spokesperson ahead of the recent presidential election.
Before the former president’s candidature was nullified by the Supreme Court, Mulusa issued a statement, saying Banda was the best candidate to take over from Michael Sata and not a new person like Lungu, who would have to learn the job of being head of state.
“President Banda fits the bill of a transitional leader. The country has lost its international credibility and we feel the nation needs someone who will concentrate on correcting the wrongs that were committed by this PF government in the three years of misrule,” Mulusa said then.
But just over a month later after Banda, having been eliminated from the presidential race, endorsed Lungu’s candidature, Mulusa wrote a story published on Zambia Reports, an online publication, saying Zambians did not want a change of government but continuity through Lungu.
“I have participated in elections either as a voter or as a candidate since 1991. One thing comes to mind - that each time Zambians want a ‘government change’, the word ‘change’ reverberates throughout the townships and communities. No matter how much you try to reason with a voter, the response would be ‘we want change!’ Not a single person has uttered the word ‘change!’” he wrote on January 7 in an article headlined, ‘It’s done, Edgar Lungu is Zambia’s 6th President - Mulusa’.
And on Tuesday last week when President Lungu appointed him special assistant for projects monitoring and implementation, Mulusa told journalists that he would remain a Rupiah Banda man but that as a civil servant, his political affiliations would be kept private.
Mulusa tried to avoid political questions from journalists, but could not resist when he was asked who had blessed his appointment.
“I am not talking politics but you know inside out and back to front I am an RB man. So at the end of the day, we are one family as MMD... RB is one of our leaders and we depend on him for support and for inspiration. But like I said, at the end of the day, I am a civil servant. No politics involved,” he said before bursting into laughter and added, “I may have some private political affiliations, but those are private.”
But on Friday, Vice-President Wina said it was not true that former president Banda was in charge of the PF government.
Kapiri Mposhi member of parliament, Eddie Musonda, asked Vice-President Wina if it was true President Lungu was hiding behind Banda and that it was the former head of state ruling the country.
“Mr Speaker, I believe that the association of MMD and PF members is unsettling some politicians,” she said.
Vice-President Wina went further to respond to UPND deputy spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa’s story, in which he said Banda was calling the shots in the PF government.
“Mr Speaker, I am surprised to hear those remarks from a party that wanted Rupiah Banda to be their campaign manager,” said Vice-President Wina.
However, Mweetwa said Mulusa had exposed the lies that President Lungu had consistently proclaimed.
“Zambians don’t have such a short memory. It was reported even before he became President that Edgar Lungu entered into an agreement with Rupiah Banda and we were told what the conditions were. I think this is what we are seeing now,” he said.
“Now, what Lucky Mulusa is saying contradicts what the Vice-President told Parliament. So, who is in charge? Who is RB’s man and who is Lungu’s man in this government? Can President Lungu now tell the nation who is lying between Mulusa and the Vice-President?”
Mweetwa wondered why President Lungu did not take interest to ask Mulusa to clarify his statement that he was an RB man.
“His special assistant declared in front of cameras right at State House that he is Rupiah Banda’s man. How can you possibly say Banda is not in charge and he is not involved when it’s his people running this government?” he wondered.
Mweetwa said it was clear that Banda was calling the shots in President Lungu’s government.
“President Lungu is merely acting. It has now become apparently clear that RB has taken over and he is now in control. The whole equation has become clear now...it’s no surprise that some people have been subjected to harassment,” he said.
“You can see that RB, in my opinion, is maintaining a very strong hold on the presidency because what Mr Sata did not do has happened under [President] Lungu from the levels of influence from Rupiah Banda in the administration of PF.”
Mweetwa said President Lungu had done away with the respect that President Sata had held for his party members.
“Michael Sata never appointed a single opposition MP to full ministerial position. I think that was meant, in part, to respect his own party members, those who worked day and night to ensure that the PF forms government. But RB has made sure that he puts his own members of parliament in Lungu’s Cabinet so that he is not shortchanged. He wants to make sure that every policy decision being made by Cabinet, he is fully aware and probably participating remotely where he has interest,” he said.
Mweetwa, however, congratulated Mulusa on his appointment.
“But at a personal level, I am happy for my friend Lucky Mulusa. I think that job perhaps will give him something to do and keep him active. So I’d like to congratulate him on his appointment but like he maintains that he is RB’s man, he is intrinsically a political entity, so I hope he manages to reconcile now that he is no longer on the mainstream political arena,” said Mweetwa.
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