Maravi

PF, ULP condemn grading of Kanyama roads

PF, ULP condemn grading of Kanyama roads
By Lambwe Kachali
Sunday January 27, 2008 [03:00]

GRADING of roads in Kanyama constituency by the MMD government is bad timing and will impact on the outcome of the results of the by-election, Partiotic Front (PF) spokesperson Given Lubinda said yesterday. And United Liberal Party (ULP) president Sakwiba Sikota has said the government should grade all roads in all flood affected townships in Lusaka and not only in Kanyama.

In an interview yesterday, Lubinda said people of Kanyama had suffered for a long time and it was important that their roads were done. Lubinda said the MMD government should be ashamed of the fact that Kanyama, which is less than six kilometers from State House, had the worst dilapidated road infrastructure.

He said if the grading of roads was to woo support from the electorate, the MMD government was deceiving itself.

"Thanks for the by-election. But no politician should condemn or stop government from grading those roads in Kanyama. People need good roads just the way Kabulonga, Woodlands and other residential areas do. It's a blessing for the people of Kanyama that there is a by-election.

Residents of Kanyama deserve good roads," Lubinda said. "I beg to differ with UPND president Hakainde Hichilema that doing so is a high degree of deception. This is not true because if MMD government's plan is to gain support for the election then it is deceiving itself."

Lubinda however said much as the people of Kanyama and other stakeholders might appreciate the grading of roads, the timing was bad.

"As PF, we will not dramatise the issue. Let government restore sanitation problem in Kanyama. It should just be ashamed because the problem of sanitation had been there for a long time. But does it mean that the government was not aware for it to come to the site now when a few weeks from now will be by-elections?” he asked.

He said people of Kanyama would not be deceived because they had gone through a lot of problems ranging from water borne diseases like cholera, poor road network among other problems.

"We are just hoping the government will grade all the roads so that when our candidate (for PF) wins the elections, he should not face numerous problems. He will instead just concentrate on other issues.

You see this situation is like a father who buys clothes for a son on the wedding day when he has been failing to dress the son all along. What will the son think about such a father? He will not believe him.

He is not a genuine father. So, this applies to MMD with its reckless gimmicks of grading roads. Let them continue but the people of Kanyama know very well that they are fake and will not vote for them," said Lubinda.

And Sikota said the grading should be extended to all flood-affected areas across Lusaka.
Sikota said it was important that a law was put in place to prevent political parties from carrying works in areas where there are by-elections.

"For instance in India, no political party is allowed to do any work in any constituency during election time. Instead all assistance is channeled through a non-partisan organisation and that is done without publicity. Much as we know that the situation in Kanyama is a moral dilemma, grading of roads will have a negative impact on the election results, especially in an event that the MMD scoops the seat," he said.

Sikota also appealed to the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) to postpone the election, saying the situation in Kanyama was currently not conducive.

"I visited Kanyama basic, John Laing and Chinika basic schools, which are also polling stations. These schools are in water. And there is no indication that the rains will stop in three weeks time. So, how are people going to vote? Are they going to stand in water on queues on the polling day? I urge ECZ to postpone these elections to a later date so that the by-election can be held after the rainy season," said Sikota.

Labels: BY-ELECTIONS, CORRUPTION, GIVEN LUBINDA, MMD, PF, ROADS, ULP

posted by MrK @ 2:25 AM