The MMD has described as over ambitious the decision by former Finance minister Ng’andu Magande to form another political party and warned that he will sink into political oblivion.

Mr Magande confirmed yesterday that he was one of the pioneers of the National Movement for Progress (NMP).

MMD spokesperson Dora Siliya said Mr Magande’s party would only be at the provincial level with little influence and that the MMD would defeat him in any election.

She said Mr Magande had given an impression that he was the best minister of Finance Zambia ever had when he was just given an opportunity to serve in the position.

Ms Siliya said there were thousands of Zambians who were better than Mr Magande and held higher qualifications than the former Chilanga Member of Parliament.  "Mr Magande confirmed yesterday that he was one of the pioneers of the National Movement for Progress (NMP)." 

And Evangelical Church in Zambia bishop Paul Mususu criticised Mr Magande for forming a political party.

Bishop Mususu said there were many political parties in the country which the former Finance minister should have joined.

He said even though democracy allowed people to form political parties of their choice, there was need to reduce on the multiplicity of political parties.

It would not be possible for newly formed parties to have unique manifestos from the existing ones.

Mr Magande said in an interview that he would offer himself as a presidential candidate in the 2011 elections.

“The movement has been established by my supporters who feel that they needed a forum to continue discussing. Even me I need to find a channel through which to communicate.

“In fact this movement started in North-Western Province and it is countrywide,” he said.

Mr Magande said he had done everything and that now it was time for him to lead Zambia.

He said it was a fact that he was part of the Government that helped the country attain the Highly Indebted Poor Countries completion point, and that it was also during his time that Zambia attained single-digit inflation in 30 years.

North-Western Province NPM pioneer Logan Shemena, who is a former United Party for National Development (UPND) secretary general, said the movement was spreading “like a bushfire”.

“With the cracks in the UPND and the confusion in MMD, the movement is spreading like fire. For now we are not focusing on leadership but to grow the movement,” he said.

[Times of Zambia]