Maravi

Levy comments on wife's 'presidency'

Levy comments on wife's 'presidency'
By Bivan Saluseki
Wednesday January 30, 2008 [03:00]

PRESIDENT Levy Mwanawasa yesterday said first lady Maureen would soon issue a statement on some people's calls for her to contest the ruling MMD and Republican presidency. Before departure for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, President Mwanawasa, who was asked to state his views on people calling for the first lady to contest the presidency, said Maureen would respond for herself.

"She will issue a statement very soon. I am not her spokesman," said President Mwanawasa before laughing.

President Mwanawasa said he was going to Ethiopia very confident that Zambia's candidate Inonge Mbikusita-Lewanika would win the chair for the African Union Commission.

"But I do pay respect to other candidates," he said.
Former Malian president, Alpha Konare, who ruled between 1992 and 2002 and is now effectively playing a leading role on the continent through the AU, currently chairs the AU Commission.

President Mwanawasa also said the AU meeting would approve the budget of the continental organisation. He said the AU would consider its audits, including the problems in Kenya.

"We will consider regional problems such as the situation in Kenya and many other things. There is a side meeting, which might be held, of the Great Lakes Region to discuss the same problem.

I would rather we handle it through one initiative other than multiplicity of initiatives," said President Mwanawasa.

The AU meeting opens tomorrow and President Mwanawasa is expected to return on Sunday.

Some of the candidates for the African Union Commission include Antoinette Batumubwira from Burundi, Abdulai Osman Conteh from Sierra Leone, Jean Ping from Gabon and Cassam Uteem from Mauritius.

For the position of deputy chairperson, the AU has Khair Eldin Abdel Latif from Egypt and Erastus Mwencha from Kenya.

Earlier, some MMD cadres and district executive committee members told off Kabwata Constituency chairman Chilekwa Munkonge for only rushing to the airport to greet President Mwanawasa when he did not attend party meetings.

Before President Mwanawasa's arrival, the cadres openly shouted at Munkonge and wondered why he did not attend party meetings.

But Monkonge shouted back telling them he was the chairman and had the powers to stay away. He told them they were junior members who could not query him.
"I give you respect. But if you start saying rubbish things to me, I don't like it," said Munkonge before disappearing among other party members.

Undeterred, some party members searched for Munkonge saying they wanted to deal with him at the airport.
They were later restrained by district officials.

Labels: MAUREEN MWANAWASA, MMD, PRESIDENCY

posted by MrK @ 3:26 AM