The new Antonio Mwanza

Antonio Mwanza franked by PF SG Mumbi Phiri during a press briefing when she joined PF

Right Activist Laura Miti writes:

The New Antonio!

Miles Sampa, on his FB page, yesterday, congratulated former FDD Spokesperson, Antonio Mwanza, for his appointment as PF Deputy Director for Media. If that is his new role, then Antonio has been placed between the proverbial rock and hard place. He has been asked to choose between undoing all the personal capital he has developed as an individual and politician or failing in his new job.
This is my thinking – in this role, Antonio would deputise for Sunday Chanda. And as we know, Sunday Chanda’s job, as he does it anyway, is to try to convince the nation, on behalf of the ruling party, that yellow is red and a square is circular. He also attacks anyone who is in the bad books of the Edgar Lungu faction of the PF, in very personal and vitriolic tones. In short, Sunday Chanda is a centre-back at a time when when the whole game is being played in the PF half. So what Antonio has signed up for is to assist Sunday to prevent goals in a goalpost with no goalkeeper. His job will be to suggest that it is the general public that is losing its collective mind when it fails to see the #42For42 as state of the art vehicles,
each with special features worth 1 million dollars. That no, there is no corruption around mukula and Zambia is not losing whole forests and millions of dollars into private pockets. That it is okay for the President to not only travel unnecessarily, but to do so with huge delegations that include his friends at taxpayer’s expense. That PF cadres are not violent. What about those pangas we see them march with?? Ah, but they are just decorative!! The PF cadres are also not robbing the Lusaka City Council blind, at markets and bus stops. University students?? Those are spoilt children who lack negotiating skills. It is their duty, afterall, to negotiate for their food allowance every term.
Good thing, I guess, is that Antoino showed, in his maiden speech as a PF member, that he is up to the task. He went for HH’s money. Not worried at all about President Lungu’s exponentially grown financial worth, he quickly sung to us, in perfect harmony with his new choir mates, the tune about HH not sharing his wealth. I guess that means Antonio is now of the view that the cholera crisis, the shocking government-school Grade 12 results, the hunger figures we now own, are all the result – not of a government that rampantly abuses public resources and mismanages the country – but of HH not using his personal wealth to improve public services. Interestingly, EL’ s and PF Ministers wealth is theirs to enjoy but the new Antonio wants HH to use his to buy drugs in UTH.
The old Antonio did not think like that, but I guess the old Antonio had to die before the new could even consider joining the PF at a time when the ruling party represents all that is reprehensible in governance. All that said, the truth remains that Antonio is within his rights to join any party, however incongruous the rest of us find his choice with who we have known him to be.