Teta's behaviour won't affect me -Lubinda

Teta's behaviour won't affect me -Lubinda
By Noel Sichalwe
Sunday April 08, 2007 [04:00]

I will not allow Tetamashimba’s behaviour to have a bearing on me, Kabwata Patriotic Front (PF) member of parliament Given Lubinda has said. And Lukashya PF member of parliament Alfridah Mwamba has said works and supply deputy minister Ben Tetamashimba’s point of order to nullify her seat was riddled with malice. But Tetamashimba said the MMD and himself had no need to suffocate PF and its president Michael Sata.

Lubinda and Mwamba were commenting on a ruling by Speaker Amusaa Mwanamwambwa, who dismissed Tetamashimba’s point of order where he was seeking to nullify the seats of PF members of parliament, Kabwata’s Lubinda, Lukashya’s Mwamba and Kanyama’s Henry Mtonga on grounds of dual membership.

Tetamashimba alleged that the trio belonged to United Liberal Party and Patriotic Front. Lubinda said the point of order did not mean anything to him and that his performance in the House was the same as before. He said from the start he knew that the point of order was frivolous orchestrated by a highly vindictive person whose survival was on buying recognition.

“I was extremely confident because I did everything with a clear conscious and at no time did I make a decision without due regard to provisions of the law,” he said. “I had no reason to doubt the integrity of the institution charged to make the ruling.

Therefore, it does not excite me that it has come to pass. I shall not have any retribution to Teta. He is of no consequence to me and I would not allow his behaviour to have a bearing on me and the people of Kabwata constituency. Teta is too minute to occupy my thoughts.”

Lubinda said he did not expect Tetamashimba to be ignorant and lack serious judgment by failing to understand the circumstances relating to his parliamentary seat. He said Tetamashimba’s analytical ability and power of judgment on issues left much to be desired even for the performance of duties as deputy minister. “Now that this is done, I challenge him to take me on a plain field so that Zambians are given an opportunity to distinguish who the fool is,” he said.

And Mwamba said after looking at the people involved in the matter, Tetamashimba was trying to revenge when he was flashed out of United Party for National Development (UPND) a few years ago. Mwamba said some people thought that when they went into Parliament, it was a battlefield for settling old scores. “When we are called honourables in the House, we should behave as such. We should not use Parliament as a boxing ring,” she said. Mwamba said in Tetamashimba’s case, he was elected to the House under National Party in 1996.

She said before Parliament dissolved, he started masquerading as UPND general secretary. Mwamba said Tetamashimba was subsequently flashed out of the House because he dared the law. “I am very satisfied with the ruling because the matter was investigated thoroughly,” she said. Mtonga refused to comment.

However, Tetamashimba maintained that the constitution did not allow verbal alliances to sponsor candidates like the PF-ULP pact. He wondered how the National Assembly stated that there was a binding alliance between the two parties when Sata had said there was never an agreement. Tetamashimba said it could not be a coincidence that all ULP members of parliament sat behind party president Sakwiba Sikota in the House. He said Mtonga resigned from ULP in January this year and that even at the time of the ruling, the trio was belonging to the two parties which the constitution did not allow.