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MMD needs 'locomotive' politician, says Mpombo

MMD needs 'locomotive' politician, says Mpombo
By Noel Sichalwe
Tuesday January 08, 2008 [03:00]

DEFENCE minister George Mpombo has said that the MMD needs a ‘locomotive’ politician to stir the party to greater heights. Mpombo was reacting to United Party for National Development (UPND) spokesperson Charles Kakoma who advised President Mwanawasa not to block Professor Clive Chirwa from contesting the party presidency.

“Professor Chirwa is not a kind of man who can revolutionalise the country,” he said. “Politics is not talking about your academic status but it requires somebody with a proven record, somebody with the vision to continue with good policies.

I have not met Professor Chirwa but I don’t think he is a political force. MMD requires a ‘locomotive’ politician with a strong background and a message of unity. It is not necessarily somebody with degrees but a person who can work with people.”

Mpombo said there was no scramble for power in MMD because they had a strong system in appointing leaders.

He said President Mwanawasa was not preaching any undemocratic tendency by refusing to support Prof Chirwa’s candidacy.

He said the selection of a presidential candidate for a particular party was a cardinal issue that needed to have the full backing of all party members and leaders.

“As a party president, you must ensure that the election of a candidate does not divide the party,” he said.

Mpombo said the MMD presidential candidate normally went through a rigorous process so that every party member could participate. He said the question of party presidency was important and that once it was resolved, it needed to create unity within the MMD. He said no one could get the party presidency without going through the normal election process.

“In politics, once you create shortcuts, things cannot move well. That is how UPND had almost collapsed because they brought in a new man, Mr Hakainde Hichilema after Mr Mazoka died. You can see that key members like Sakwiba Sikota, Mr (Patrick) Chisanga and others left the party,” he said.

“The tragedy in African politics is that people just wake up and want to be presidential candidates without the necessary credentials.” Mpombo said MMD had a constitution which was followed and that they could not frustrate the process of democracy.

Kakoma recently questioned President Mwanawasa’s announcement that he had a list of three preferred MMD presidential candidates and that he could not support Prof Chirwa.

He said leadership should be treated as a preserve of every bonafide Zambian and not only for a few that could be woken up in the night to be handpicked to be Zambian President.

Labels: GEORGE MPOMBO, MMD

posted by MrK @ 9:16 AM