 We have noted the matter of grave concern lately and this is a matter to do with the biggest opposition political party in our country and this is the patriotic front, the recent political party that was in office, the one that this administration took over from. Now we are a bit concerned and we are forced to come out to state the correct positions because we have noticed that in their discourse, in their talk, they are bringing in the name of this administration as wanting to see them be registered and more so they are bringing the name of the president of the republic of Zambia into disrepute by falsely accusing him to be behind the problems they are having with the registrar of societies. And we want to make it clear that far from the truth their issues have got nothing to do with this administration and they have got nothing to do with the president of the republic of Zambia. We say so because we will give you the correct position and background. Their troubles with the registrar of societies span back as far back as April of 2021. Ladies and gentlemen, April of 2021, the patriotic front were in office. The UPND as a political party was in opposition. President Agaida ichi rewa was in opposition and still running around and jumping over tear gases and so on and getting arrested every now and then by the very patriotic front when they started having problems with the registrar of societies. What is simply there is that the registrar of societies has asked them to put their house in order. For any organization that is registered under the act, the societies act with the registrar of societies, you need to have office bearers registered at the office of the registrar of societies. Basically if you are a political party for example, you need three things banged at the registrar of societies. Number one, you need a list of office bearers who wants to be cared as a minimum or more. Those days require to have two important documents attached to their names, a national registration card and a security clearance. These are to ensure that you as a political party who may one day end up being a governing party and form government in this country, you are not a congregation of foreigners. So you ought to have your national registration card green for that matter and your security clearance to show that you have no criminal records. Then also you need to bank your constitution as an organization which stipulates the rules by which you govern yourselves. So you bank it with the registrar of societies and steps to the registrar these are the rules through which we shall govern ourselves. The patriotic front like any other political party did the same, they went and banked their documents with the registrar of societies. They went and had their convention. When you have a convention you may change office bearers and you give notice to the registrar of societies that you have changed office bearers. You mentioned the ones you have changed and you also mentioned the ones you have replaced me and you even pay. So you have this certificate that shows clearly that this certificate is in line with having changed office bearers or if you have amended your constitution also you retrieve the old constitution, you bank the new constitution with the amendments and you have the receipt. In April of 2021 the patriotic front, one is in office, one is in power did take names to the registrar of societies and said we have held our convention and these seven names have been dropped and they have been replaced with the following seven names. The list which was at the registrar of societies before their convention were showing that they had President Edgar Rungu as President Mr Richard Chanda M, Mr Debussy Winners General Secretary, Benadete Mvula E, Inongi Wina, Daniel Miambo, Efrem Chisumbe, John Mitekenyasi, Tsuvi Atadi Kosa and Debbie Stratham. Then they submitted a new list and I think we've all seen that list because it has been circulated by one of them, I think it's Ambassador Emmanuel Muamba that states to the Zambian people, no, no, no, look, we submitted here the ten names and we, the registrar of societies have them. The ten names they submitted are President Edgar Rungu, Honobo Dedi Sumira, Mr Nongamu Kupa, Mrs Monika Mwale Mwansa, Mrs Annie Nirenda Tisha, Honobo Dedi Stama, Honobo Muimbama Lama, Honobo Emeryn Kavanshi, Honobo Fidon Skazwe and Honobo Stilling Kampion. They submitted these as the new names. Now remember as I stated before, when you submit names at the registrar societies, they must be accompanied by two documents. That is your analysis and your police clearance for security clearance if you want. Of these, and this is where they have a problem with the registrar, first President Edgar Rungu, whom they still state today that he's the party president, is on record having written that he has resigned as political party president for the patriotic front and that he has left active politics. His letters here signed by himself having resigned. Devis Mwila, it's in public domain. We all know that he also stepped down as secretary general of the party patriotic front. But that aside, let's take the 10 names that they have put there. We have said that they ought to be accompanied by analysis and they ought to have security clearance. So President Edgar Rungu checks out. Honobo Devis Mwila checks out. Honobo Devis Stama checks out. Honobo Mwila checks out. Meaning that attached to their names, they have the NRC and they have the police clearance for security clearance if you want. But Mr. Ngomu Kupa, to his name, there is no NRC and there is no security clearance. Mrs. Monica Mwale Mwansa, there is no security clearance. Mrs. Annie Yelenda Tisha, there is no security clearance. Honobo Emaren Kabashi, there is no security clearance. And Honobo Kabashi is in prison. Honobo Fildums Kazwe, there is no security clearance. Honobo Stephen Campiongo, the former minister of home affairs. The former minister in charge of security clearance has no security clearance. So this list therefore is incomplete and cannot be banked as a list of new office bearers. So now they have been having this tassel with the registrar of societies back and forth over this list to rectify it to ensure that everyone is in compliance and the law has been followed. In all this back and forth since 2021 in April when PF was in office. President Agahindi H&M was not involved. The UPND as a Libidistrational Government was not involved. Why is it that today, two years later when they have failed to rectify the problems that have been having a back and forth with the registrar of societies today they want to claim it is a UPND that wants us out of office. This was in Agahindi that what has been registered. How? As that year you can't have a situation where the problem you have failed to solve yourselves and when the time has come for you to face the reality of what you have been doing you want to turn around and say this is the man that has caused the problem. How has he caused the problem when he was not in office? You were in office. This only speaks to the impunity with which the PF administration broke the law with so much impunity disregard for the national constitution and disregard for their own constitution. You all remember how at one time we sat as a nation in awe and watched a sitting Republican president declare and interpret the constitution and say that the ministers, his cabinet will remain in office even beyond the dissolution of parliament. You remember that? The man said loyama loyama loyama and all these things. But the court said otherwise and even ordered that the people pay back and vacate office. Breaking the law with impunity. Now when they ask to do the collecting they claim that they have been victimized. Nobody is victimizing them. All they have been asked is collect the situation. But instead of just collecting the situation quietly on one hand the rise and blame the government and blame president Haga Inde and suggest and insinuate that he is the one doing this for them or at them but on the other hand as they show the Zambian people this list and claim no we have complied. Here is our list. I've told you what is wrong with this list. I've told you what is wrong with this list. As they are showing the Zambian people this but because they are too... I don't want to use the word cricket but because they rarely tell the truth. They live in their lives. Yesterday. Yesterday they took names to the police for clearance. These are the names the P.F. took to police for clearance yesterday. So they get security clearance. 80 names. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 7. 8. 9. And these names have been submitted to the police. There is totally nothing wrong with them doing this. They are following the law. And the law is very clear. To get security clearance it takes 21 working days. So these names will be clear within 21 working days. The registrar of societies for the last two years have been having a back and forth with the P.F. wrote them a letter at one point that gave them 21 days to sort out their problems they ignored. And later on they asked for 14 days. They asked for 14 days. She gave them 7 days. So now as it stands they have 7 days in which to comply. 7 working days. So we have to count 7 working days from that date. I want to believe plus or minus is that other Monday. Not this coming Monday but the other Monday. So the law will just be followed. 7 days will be 7 days. Just as we remember going through an episode of 14 days is 14 days. So 7 days will be 7 days. And 21 working days also will be 21 working days. And everybody will just follow the law. But we just want to make it very clear that whatever they are going through has got nothing to do with government. It has nothing to do with president Agaendi Hirema. It has nothing to do with UPND and administration. This is a matter that has everything to do with themselves that started within their reign and regime. And these are issues they were facing even as they were in office. And only speaks to the fact that they have always uprogetted the law with impunity and now they are being asked to do the right thing. So if there is any complaint they have their complaint is that we are so used to doing the wrong thing we are now being asked to do the right thing and they don't want to do the right thing. I want to also make it clear that in the events and I am not saying it is going to happen in the events that the patriotic friend gets the register the first party to be registered. Under the reign of the patriotic friend 19 political parties were registered during their reign the 10 years in office 19 political parties were registered you will recall the case of the MMD with 53 members of parliament it was registered until it complied after it complied it was reinstated. You remember the issue of the democratic party it was deregistered it had to take the DP to go to court to get it reinstated you recall the nation of democratic congress the NDC it was deregistered it had to go to the court and appeal to the court and it was reinstated So it's not the first time that the political party may be deregistered secondly the claim that if you deregister the patriotic friend then you know democracy has come to a stand still because there you are creating one party state the patriotic friend is not the only opposition political party they are self and their main so even if they may get the register or even if they get the register it doesn't mean that democracy has died there are many other political parties that are on the ground thirdly I have also heard a session that if they get the register then we are going to go for bi-elections in all the areas where we have members of parliament that belong to the PAF in all the areas that we have cancerans that belong to the PAF if that were the case during that time when the deregistered for example MMD with 53 members of parliament that would have been the case would have gone to bi-elections would have gone to bi-elections for 53 parliamentary seats because the constitution then allowed it the constitution now in article 729 reads and this is the article that deals with vacation of office as member of parliament and dissolution of political parties it reads and I quote if a political party is dissolved a member of parliament shall retain the member seat as an independent member and of course I repeat article number 729 reads and I quote if a political party is dissolved a member of parliament shall retain the member seat as an independent member now if in this case and spirit of the constitution dissolution and deregisteration mean the same we can't tell we are not in the habit of interpreting the constitution we are not in the habit of interpreting the constitution because it is in the province of the court so the courts of law may need to interpret if dissolution and deregisteration mean the same thing but for now I want to allay those fears that the possibility is high that in the event of a deregisteration then we are going for a widespread bi-elections near to a general elections we don't believe so but the courts may need to interpret this what we wanted to state today is very clearly so that the problems the patriotic funds are having with the registrar of societies have got nothing to do with this government have got nothing to do with this president has everything to do with this regard of the law during the time they were in office and even when they are out of office let them put their house in order and leave the government out of it leave the president out of it and just deal with their issues they have already started dealing with them although they want to do that secretly away from the people minwawal would winking the people and claiming that you already have complied and here are the names wei nye ngaako antwa nukulayu na vintuva change what is wrong with telling the truth so we urge you as a political party that we need you in this democratic dispensation we need to have a strong opposition therefore we urge you as BF quickly work on your matters so that we do not see you being registered be around every government requires a strong opposition and we need you in this democratic dispensation thank you ladies and gentlemen