Maravi

PF rebel mps are irrelevant - sata

PF rebel mps are irrelevant - sata
By Patson Chilemba and Lambwe Kachali
Monday July 28, 2008 [04:00]

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) president Michael Sata yesterday asked the members of parliament sitting on the National Constitutional Conference (NCC) to resign because they are irrelevant to the party. And PF national youth chairman Samson Zulu charged that the members of parliament sitting on the NCC are sponsored political ‘prostitutes’ who wanted to bring confusion at the forth-coming party national conference.

Reacting to Chawama PF member of parliament Reverend Violet Sampa-Bredt's statement that the current party leaders do not have the mandate of the people but the appointing authority, Sata said there was no reason for Rev Sampa-Bredt and her colleagues to remain in the party if they had observed that the leadership had no mandate.

"Sampa-Bredt, Ernest Mwansa and 12 others are totally irrelevant to PF. So they are not even worth talking about. If they have found that there is no mandate, why don't they resign? And why cling to something which has no mandate? They are irrelevant to the PF equation," he said.

On Rev Sampa-Bredt's statement that she was still a PF member and that she would attend the conference because the injunction restraining the party from expelling her still stands, Sata said it was wishful thinking for the 'rebels' to think that they would attend the conference.
"The injunction doesn't deal with the conference but the NCC, so that is wishful thinking," said Sata.

And Zulu said the party was aware of the schemes by the 'rebel' members of parliament.
"We have information that they are being sponsored by somebody who is interested in the presidency of PF. The scheme is actually to get the structures of PF such as ward committees, constituency committees, district, provincial and later at national level. These members of parliament are going out in their constituencies telling those structures.

The scheme is to get the electoral college within the party so that when we go to the convention, those people do not vote for Mr Sata and that scheme is being sponsored by somebody that we know very well. He is a very senior member of the PF and very good friend of Mr Sata but now the friendship is sour," Zulu said.

"This schemer wanted to use Mr Sata to fight his battles with the government. And now that he has failed because Mr Sata said he will not succumb to that, because Mr Sata wants to be a voice of the Zambian people and not a voice of one individual.

So because of that, this person is very bitter, extremely bitter and has started to use these people to fight Mr Sata. So, when these people are speaking like this, we know where things are coming from. These people do not believe in PF."

Zulu wondered why Rev Sampa-Bredt said that the top leadership had no mandate when she was also adopted by the same leadership to contest the 2006 general elections on the PF ticket.

He challenged Rev Sampa-Bredt and others participating in the NCC to relinquish their positions if they felt that the current PF top leadership was not genuine.
Zulu said it would be scandalous for the party to allow Rev Sampa-Bredt and others to attend the conference.

"Look at Peter Machungwa, we know why they came to PF. It was for personal survival because in their previous parties they had failed. They have been jumping from one party to the other. Others have even called the president a thug, so why cling to a party of a thug?" he asked.

Zulu said the party deeply regretted having adopted the 'rebel' members of parliament to contest on the PF ticket in the last elections.

He said people were free to challenge Sata at the conference as long as they followed party procedures.
"We don't want to allow a situation which happened in 2006 where every Jim and Jack was allowed to stand. We have learnt a bitter lesson as a party by adopting these 'rebels'. We will never ever adopt people we don't know, people we don't understand their agenda.

These people came with a wrong agenda altogether," said Zulu.
On Saturday, Rev Sampa-Bredt said party members were yearning for a convention where leaders would be voted for democratically.
She said Sata should facilitate the conference and ensure that he allowed people to challenge him.

Rev Sampa-Bredt said there was need to remove the system where only one person appointed leaders.

Chifunabuli member of parliament Ernest Mwansa said Sata was victimising PF members of parliament sitting on the NCC because he was afraid of them.

Luapula member of parliament Peter Machungwa said only God was eternal and that human beings who occupied leadership positions could be replaced.

Labels: NCC, PF, SATA

posted by MrK @ 4:48 AM