I exercise in the gym - Levy
I exercise in the gym - LevyBy Noel Sichalwe
Sunday December 02, 2007 [03:00]
PRESIDENT Levy Mwanawasa yesterday said he is physically fit because he exercises in a gym at Chamba Valley. And President Mwanawasa has retired Zambia National Service (ZNS) commandant Major General Mike Mbao and replaced him with Zambia Army deputy commander Major General Raphael Chisheta.
President Mwanawasa has also dropped ZNS deputy commandant Brigadier General Moses Chipika whom he promised to relocate in foreign service in due course. President Mwanawasa congratulated Maj General Chisheta and Brig Gen Chipika on their appointment and wished them well.
"On behalf of the nation, I have no doubt that you will succeed in your appointments," he said.
And responding to questions from journalists at Lusaka International Airport before he left for a four-day state visit in Germany enroute to the European Union/African Union summit in Portugal, President Mwanawasa said he had been exercising in the gym for one hour every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
"You can see me, I am quite fit. Yes, I get sick like everybody else but I am fit," President Mwanawasa said. "I invite you to come to Chamba Valley gym every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
You will see what I do. I spend one hour in the gym. Come and see the sweat, then you will see how fit I am. You can see how I have reduced on my weight."
President Mwanawasa said he was running the country in partnership and that if he decided to delegate some responsibilities to Vice-President Rupiah Banda, he should not be faulted for that. He was answering a question on why he delegated Vice-President Banda to attend the Commonwealth meeting in Uganda last week.
There has been growing speculation that President Mwanawasa was not in good health, hence his delegating Vice-President Banda on a number of assignments in the recent past.
And on the EU/AU summit in Portugal, President Mwanawasa said the summit would focus on many challenges. He said his expectation was that the summit would find solutions to problems and make the burden lighter.
President Mwanawasa said it was unfortunate that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had decided not to attend the summit. He, however, said it was consoling enough that Prime Minister Brown had sent somebody to represent him.
President Mwanawasa noted that Britain had been pressuring the Zimbabwean government to improve their way of living.
"Now, I have said the nation faces a lot of challenges. UK is a leader, it is one of the powerful nations in the developed world and it is our colonial empire. Now, he shouldn't get tired of speaking and he must continue until the harvest.
I appeal to Gordon Brown and the entire British nation that they should continue with their efforts until the situation in Zimbabwe has been resolved," he said.
President Mwanawasa said leaders attending the summit were determined to ensure that the summit was a success and he was glad that most of the European leaders would attend.
He congratulated and thanked Portugal for having sent a letter of invitation to Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe to attend the summit. He said President Mugabe has confirmed receiving the invitation letter last Friday.
On former president Frederick Chiluba's expected press conference today,
President Mwanawasa said people should celebrate that Zambia was still around and that leaders should not concentrate on who did what project when in office.
He said although the environment had improved, he did not expect the poor people to be resuscitated immediately.
President Mwanawasa said the government was working towards efforts meant to create employment opportunities through agriculture and manufacturing, among other sectors.
"Job creation and wealth creation are means of improving the living standard of people. Everything we have done and are doing is intended to provide relief to the poorest of our people," said President Mwanawasa.
Labels: MWANAWASA, SUMMIT, ZIMBABWE
posted by MrK @ 6:59 AM
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