Maravi

UNIP has crumbled - Banda

UNIP has crumbled - Banda
By Chibaula Silwamba
Saturday May 26, 2007 [03:01]

UNIP has crumbled, Vice-President Rupiah Banda has said. And Vice-President Banda said the London High Court judgment on former president Frederick Chiluba had vindicated President Levy Mwanawasa that he was not being personal on Chiluba. Meanwhile, Vice-President Banda described The Post as a freedom fighter. In an interview at his Government House residence, Vice-President Banda observed that UNIP would have had no parliamentarians if its candidates had not stood on the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket last year.

"I think UNIP has crumbled already, they have only two seats from the last general election," said Vice-President Banda, who once served as minister in the UNIP government. "If they had stood on their own they would have nobody there. So from 150 elected members to two members, I don't know what the word crumbling means. UNIP has crumbled. It's very sad."

He also justified his castigation of FDD's Kapoche parliamentary candidate, Charles Banda, last week. "He is the real issue because he did not accept the results of the last election, so we will not be sufficiently political if we didn't go for the target," he said. "We are politicians; we had to capitalise on the confusion in their organisation, the UDA. If UDA was still a force that it was when we had the general election, why is it that there was a UNIP candidate separate and FDD candidate separate? We think that these are real good issues on which to campaign."

Vice-President Banda said although Charles Banda was charismatic, he would be incapable, if elected, to mobilise resources required for Kapoche because there would be only two FDD parliamentarians. He said from the high number of people that attended his rallies in Kapoche, he was optimistic that MMD's Professor Fashion Phiri would win the Kapoche seat.

On people's complaints about parliamentarians' failure to visit their constituencies, Vice-President Banda said parliamentarians were considered to be mature enough to balance their time. However, Vice-President Banda said it was easy for ordinary parliamentarians to visit their constituencies unlike ministers because they had other national duties apart from the constituency.

"In the case of honourable Cifire, she was given one of the biggest ministries in this country," he said.

He said constituents should not expect to always see their parliamentarians, who were ministers. "It's not the physical visit, it's the physical assets like money, road making equipment and all those things, that is what you expect of your parliamentarian," he said.

Vice-President Banda also said there was no need to compare the corruption levels in the UNIP and current government because they were different periods.

On Chiluba, Vice-President Banda said he was happy about the judgment like other Zambians.

"I welcomed the London judgement like The Post journalist and its editor-in-chief, myself as one of the admirers of your newspaper I'm happy about the judgment because it vindicated our President that he was not being personal," he said. "I want to thank The Post for the tenacity to fight side-by-side with the government against social and economic vices that affect our people. You have to continue because you are also freedom fighters."

He also said rehabilitation works on roads and bridges that were washed away by floods would start soon. Vice-President Banda said assessments were going on to determine the number of people that needed relief food up to the next harvest period.

Labels: RUPIAH BANDA, UNIP

posted by MrK @ 10:25 AM