Brown Mpinganjira dumps People’s Party
The People’s Party has suffered another major blow yet as its Vice President for the Southern region Brown Mpinganjira has resigned from his position and from the membership of the party.
Mpinganjira’s quitting of the party follows those of Sosten Gwengwe who was running mate to President Joyce Banda in the elections last year and of the party’s Vice President for the north, Harry Mkandawire.
Mpinganijira tendered in his resignation yesterday through the party’s administrator.
The three resignations have happened in a space of three weeks.
In an interview yesterday, BJ, as Mpinganjira is popularly known, said he has resigned as he wants to concentrate on a “writing project”.
He declined to spell out the details of the project.
Told that his departure, coming shortly after those of Gwengwe and Mkandawire, could be seen by others as a betrayal to the party at the time it needs its top officials to rebuild it after its humiliating defeat in the tripartite elections last year, Mpinganjira said the party has a functional system in place to thrive even with the departure of some of its senior members.
“Party business is teamwork. There is no single individual who is more indispensable above the collective membership of any party. In the case of the People’s Party, it has a system, a system that is ticking. No individual member’s departure can shake that,” he said.
He described his resignation as only coincidental to those of Mkandawire and Gwengwe.
“It’s just a coincidence that we are leaving our positions and the party at the same time. While I was not readily in touch with Honourable Gwengwe, I was in constant touch with Honourable Mkandawire and his resignation surprised me also because I had no prior knowledge of it,” he said.
He dismissed the question that he is leaving the party so that he picks up a post in the administration of President Peter Mutharika.
“The objective of every political party is to get into government. But if you do not succeed in that objective, it’s not helpful to busy yourself with obstructing those that have been given the mandate by the people to govern.
“Having said that, my resignation should not be construed to mean I have been offered anything by the Peter Mutharika administration. I have a personal project to work on. Once that is completed, I may consider rejoining the People’s Party or any other party,” he said, adding his project shouldn’t take too long.
Pressed whether he would accept any cabinet appointment from Mutharika now that he is free from any political party strings, Mpinganjira said there are no vacancies in Mutharika’s cabinet.
“President Mutharika promised to deliver a lean cabinet and he stuck to his word. So there is no space for anyone else in there.
“I am content with the fact that I am a citizen of this country and I am available to render my assistance in whatever cause when given an opportunity to do so,” he said.
About his party, he said he appreciated it that its leadership had trusted him to work at its highest ranks.
“What I can say now is that all of us have a responsibility to reduce political tension in the country. The progress of this country depends much on this. We need unity of purpose to move the country forward.
“In this country, we play politics every single day from one election to another election. If we had applied that energy we spend in needless politicking into development, this country would not have been in a poverty state it is in,” he said.
Contacted for their comment, People’s Party Publicity Secretary Ken Msonda said he was not aware of the resignation.
“But if that is true, we have no problem with it. He is a free citizen and he has the right to do what he feels he has to do,” he said.
Msonda also dismissed the argument that the party has been dealt a particularly severe blow losing three senior ranking members within a space of three weeks.
He said the resignations show that the party genuinely believes in democracy and by no means do the departures weaken the party in any way.
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