 My name is Efrem Belem and I was a member of the UPND and member of parliament for Mabahara parliamentary constituency from 2011 until the 6th of April 2021 when I made a conscious decision to resign and I must add that I was an ardent and probably overzeras member of the UPND. However, I made a decision to leave the UPND. Contrary to what has been sought in the UPND narratives that I was bought, that I was sought and the line that actually is an insult to so many citizens who may have entered politics like myself with ideals as opposed to with riches. The assumption is that yes Efrem Belem because he didn't enter politics using riches or franting riches therefore he is on the market to be bought or sought like a tomato. That is not true of the many millions who are going to vote on 12th. They have made their own decisions based on what they have seen. I am always inspired by the sons of Isaka in the bible who understood the times Israel lived in and what it ought to do and I always want to understand the times Zambia is living in and what it ought to do and for doing that I must never be called names because that's how God has made me understand by his grace and I want to say unfortunately the UPND as a political party is on a political party on paper. In terms of practice and function it has ceased to be a political party. It has become a machinery to divide and destroy this country. That's why in their narratives if you listen to them carefully they will never tell you about how they intend to develop this country but they will tell you about who's black in this country and how themselves they are white almost declaring themselves as demigods that we must worship their leader and their members. That is not fair to a country. That is not fair to a country. Political contestation must be based on ideas and what they want to do. It's not about Abrakadabra. Suyami at 10 hours and 12 hours things will change. That is not politics and that's not how we aspire economies to develop. We are not talking about Abrakadabra here. We are not looking for a magician in a president. We are looking for a president who is a leader who inspired this nation, who will create building blocks for this nation to prosper, for this nation to unite as opposed to Abrakadabra. And the narrative is very simple. Everyone is black and they are white and they will feed that to your children, they will feed that to my children, they will feed it to whoever has access to social media. That's one of the most dangerous, that's one of the most dangerous things the UPND has done to feed the toxic substances in our children, in our homes and in the citizens and to instill fear that citizens can't make a decision. I am a Southerner and a true Southerner for that matter through and through. However, I don't agree I don't agree with the agenda of the UPND and this leadership to isolate my legion, to isolate and abuse my province and use the individual's name as a general descriptor of who a Southerner is. A province cannot be isolated because one individual has aspired to be president and then tell everyone else, sit back, don't be anything else until I become a president. What if God has not given that individual to be president? You know today is the time of Kalele, a Southerner is anyone from Gatwe Bridge up to Chief Momba and in there people are free to make their own decisions. This is not the first time that we are having political contestation. I have said I have been a member of parliament to be asked to continuously boycott, to continuously be abused. For those of my colleagues who are in the UPND or from the UPND who understand this that even within the UPND there are things that I could not do because I told you you are a Southerner you can't and it even went to the extent of saying in parliament you can't sit on this seat because UPND you are you are you are you are you are you are a Southerner and that was not coming from another political party apart from the UPND itself that is being abusive to a region that is being abusive and drawing back a region. I would rather we move in together and join the rest of the country. You people it's very easy to tell how a dictator behaves. They will find escape but in every situation. They will blame everyone else except themselves. Hitra in the early days in the Wilma Republic blamed the economy on a people he called stabbed us in the back of the Jews. What followed was mass killing. As we sit today the UPND has developed a narrative which distances itself from any situation this country is going through which is hard even denying the effects of covid on an economy. I'm not surprised that at times God has a reason why certain individuals have been denied access to executive power. Nialesa wagu ima bulela you must agree that God has not allowed you to hold power. It's not me. It's not me. It's God. Go and wrestle with God. Don't injure people. Don't mind people. Don't destroy people. Don't run a narrative which distances one particular region of province because you as an individual you want to lead a country. How about us who don't want to lead a country? I just want a fair share of development in my region, in my constituents. By the way his excellence visited us during this week in Smahubi in Mapaza where I come from and he was inspecting a project that was undertaken the first ever government project of a secondary school in terms of infrastructure from the time Mumbabara became Mumbabara. The rest were by colonial masters. Now why would I want to continue fighting such a person and why would I want to isolate myself from that kind of development? Today the UPND is opportunistic. They wake up and tell you how black people are but never about what they will do. Somewhere I read in their books that they want to to reduce the size of government. But they'll never tell you the size of government because government has three branches. Is it the registrar they want to reduce? But people have been saying they want more consequences. Is it the judiciary they want to reduce? People have been saying they need more charges and measures so that the cases move faster. Is it the executive function? We all know that the size of cabinet is decided by the constitution and is written in black and white. So what are they going to reduce? You must read in between lines. The only authority they could have maybe was to reduce the size of the public service. And I've been seeing some of my colleagues in the public service clapping. Somebody is telling you I will fire you. I will remove you when they say reducing. They are talking about firing people. That's why they will not tell you which branch, which area. We must move away from that. I don't think this election is about chanceing. It's about a party and this leadership that is going to inspire development. I was privileged in national assembly to be the chairperson of the committee on energy, water development and tourism. And I know the famed foundation that has been read by the PF under the leadership of his excellence, Dr. Ejikachagwanungu. For example, the energy police has been reviewed. The electricity act, the energy legislation has been reviewed. The electricity act, the energy regulation act, the rural electrification act. Those are laying a foundation for us to develop in the next five years. Not somebody will wake up and say abrakadabra abrakadabra and improve the electricity in this nation. No. I'm aware of the batoka gorge. I'm aware of the kafiwa gorge. We see the excellence was just commissioned not too long ago. I'm aware of the studies that are being done in the kawoma area on wind energy, in the kafiwa gorge area, on wind energy. I'm aware of the massive investment in terms of production in the Lekitanganika area. That is what will inspire this economy. That's what will bring energy to this country. Not abrakadabra. Suyami 10 hours, 14 hours things will be like that. No. This country needs more serious leadership. And that is my plea to the Zambian people. Read in between the lines. Don't gamble this country on the troves of August. Let's vote for a party and a president that has begun to lay a foundation in major sectors of our country. I thank you. The UPNDR demonstrated that it's ever, together with all of us, champion that cause on the behalf of the Zambian people. I know that when troubles come and times want to go back, it's common to go back to Egypt, where we get food but we're slaves. There's a tendency to go back. It's human nature. But again, when you realize that the journey actually is together, I think you're always reminded that you must move until you reach the promised path. There's also this tendency to believe that people join political parties to see elected office. It is okay to come back home. In other words, the fomambabala member of parliament, Efrem Belemo, used as he defected back to the United Party for National Development. The party he dumped for the patriotic front after being left out of the adoption process. The former lawmaker further says he is rejoining the party he fought with for the betterment of the Zambians. He further disclosed that in the few months of being in power, the UPND has proved to be the government that Zambians were longing for. And receiving Mr Belemo on behalf of the UPND, Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Elijah Muchima will come to the former lawmaker back to the party. He believes the Zambians will benefit from his contributions toward making Zambia a better place. He has since occurred on the UPND members to embrace the people that will be rejoining the party.