UPND Responds To Wina’s Accusations Of Intolerance

The UPND has accused Vice President Inonge Wina of “lying with her eyes wide open” after Mrs Wina said the reason so many local councillors were leaving the UPND was due to the opposition party being ‘intolerant’.

The UPND’s information and publicity secretary for Lusaka Central Constituency Ngombo Ngombo called the vice president a liar and said he now understood Cornelius Mweetwa’s description of her as “shallow and shameful”. 

Mr Ngombo’s comments follow an exchange between Vice President Wina and the PF MP for Lubansenshi, George Mwamba. 

Mr Mwamba asked the vice president why so many local councillors had defected from the UPND to join the PF, to which Mrs Wina replied:

“Mr Speaker, there’re many factors contributing to this exodus of councillors from UPND. And one of these is the high levels of intolerance in UPND. And the newcomers to the party are finding this very uncomfortable. And that’s why some of them are leaving. And some are leaving because they cannot operate under a very undemocratic party where councillors are forbidden from interacting with government officials,” 

Mr Ngombo’s has since criticised Mrs Wina’s comments, accusing her of being a poor role model to young female politicians.

The UPND official responded that it was the PF government that had ‘starved’ local councils while squandering resources for its own cadres. 

“The Patriotic Front, led by Inonge Wina in its greedy style, has continued to starve local authorities through inadequate funding while all sources of income have been taken over by party cadres, leaving councillors and other council workers desperate and vulnerable. These are high levels of immorality and intolerance,” stated Ngombo.