By Zenak Matekenya
Newly appointed UTM regional governor for the north, Dr. Moses Mulenga said he will popularize the party in villages noting that people have voted for it because its President, Dr. Saulosi Chilima is a charismatic speaker.
He made the remarks Saturday in Mzuzu when he assumed the regional governor’s office after defeating Chihaula Shaba with 90 votes against 63.
“UTM is very popular on social media and in town, but when you go to the villages you don’t really find UTM there. People vote for UTM because our President, Dr. Chilima is a very charismatic speaker. So people know UTM because of Dr. Chilima.
“Should Dr. Chilima decide to resign, God forbid, I suspect that UTM may not stand the test of time. So because of that my assignment number one is to make sure that we work as a team with members of the regional committee to take UTM to the grassroots,” he said.
Dr. Mulenga said he would resign his position as campus registrar for Livingstonia University should his new position compromise quality of his service to the college.
“I don’t fully know what it means to work as a governor but should I see that the work load for the governor requires more time, and then integrity demands that I should resign as registrar so that I can be fair to the university, myself and the party,” he said.
In his acceptance speech as regional governor, Dr. Mulenga said he has since resigned as UTM national executive committee (NEC) member as per requirement.
In his part, Shaba congratulated Mulenga for the triumph and pledged his support for UTM popularity to flourish in the region.
Former UTM regional governor for the north, Leonard Njikho, who resigned from the position on personal grounds, said both Dr. Mulenga and Shaba supported him towards building the party in the region.
He urged UTM NEC to stop interfering with operations of the regional functions by following protocol in implementation of various programs.
UTM director of political affairs, Anita Kalinde and UTM national director of the youth, Bon Kalindo presided over the election which saw 153 UTM delegates from 33 constituencies in the northern region casting their vote.-MANA
