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Munkombwe advises presidential aspirants to weigh themselves

Munkombwe advises presidential aspirants to weigh themselves
By Chibaula Silwamba, Edwin Mbulo, Mutale Kapekele and Noel Sic
Friday August 29, 2008 [04:00]

SOUTHERN Province minister Daniel Munkombwe yesterday advised people aspiring for the Republican presidency to weigh themselves against the achievements of the late President Levy Mwanawasa. And Mongu residents attributed Wednesday's stampede during the funeral procession of President Mwanawasa at the Presidential Guesthouse to security lapses.

Addressing mourners before they started viewing the body of President Mwanawasa at Livingstone International Airport, Munkombwe advised the people vying for the presidency not to allow their fantasies to degrade the legacy that President Mwanawasa has left.

"I want to say that those who aspire to the presidency of the Republic of Zambia must weigh themselves against the achievements achieved by this great leader. In politics no one agrees that he or she is unpopular. In politics everyone is popular, they are entitled to dream. It's good to fantasise but don't let your fantasy degrade the legacy that President Mwanawasa has left," Munkombwe said.

He said people had the right to aspire for the presidency but that they would be more respected if they did not announce their intentions.

"I am surprised myself that Levy left a united MMD, I want to continue serving under a united MMD government. If you fragment it, if you tie it to your groupings and so on, results are disastrous," he said.

Munkombwe encouraged first lady, Maureen Mwanawasa, whom he described as a strong lady to be steadfast.

Munkombwe highlighted several developmental projects that the late President Mwanawasa embarked on.

"We are paying our respects to an African hero, to a Zambian hero and a Zambian achiever; this airport we are gathered on this morning is testimony of Levy's work, the chronic Choma-Namwala road is being worked on now, the chronic

Nickel-Monze road is being worked on now, the Chronic-Bottom Road is being worked on now, the Batoka-Mamba road is being worked on now," said Munkombwe. "What else can a human being achieve besides these I have itemised?"

Senior chief Mukuni advised opposition political parties not to vie for the Republican presidency because they would form a minority government.

Chief Mukuni said opposition political parties could carry on but it would not be necessary for them to contest the presidential by-elections.

"But for me, the opposition, in the sense that they have lesser MPs in Parliament, between now and 2011, I wouldn't really encourage them to vie for the position of presidency because we will end up with a minority government because they have fewer MPs than the MMD. I think this was the MMD mandate until 2011 which they have to carry on," chief Mukuni said.

He urged the ruling MMD national executive committee (NEC) members to pick a candidate who would uphold the legacy of President Mwanawasa.

Southern Province MMD chairperson Solomon Muzyamba said President Mwanawasa had set high standards in leadership that those who were desirous and aspiring for the presidency would have problems satisfying them.

Finance minister Ng'andu Magande, who is also MMD presidential aspirant, dismissed assertions that he was using late President Mwanawasa's funeral to gain political popularity.

A confident Magande said he is the right leader to succeed late President Mwanawasa because he knew a lot.

He said it would not do the nation any good to have a 'politician'-led nation.
"A politician will just make noise and he will destroy the legacy of President Mwanawasa," Magande said. "If you just talk and people don't have food, you have not given them political direction. I started as an economist in the 70s and if someone says I am not qualified to rule, I would ask them if they know the system and how it operates."
Earlier, Magande knelt before Maureen to greet and console her.

Albidon Mine general manager for corporate affairs Dr Sixtus Mulenga said he did not expect any policy reversal following the death of President Mwanawasa.

Opposition UPND Moomba member of parliament Vitalis Mooya said the late President Mwanawasa had uplifted the living standards of Zambians.

A Livingstone tourism investor who runs The River Club, Peter Jones said President Mwanawasa set a good foundation for the tourism industry.

A Livingstone resident, Hilary Lutangu, who was on a queue to view President Mwanawasa's body, said the President's death was a great loss and the country was in a dilemma.

Meanwhile, thousands of people queued up to view the body of President Mwanawasa.
The queue stretched from Livingstone International Airport up to town, which is about 10 kilometres.

Livingstone health management team representative, Dr Pappy Banza said two people were injured as some mourners rushed to view the body.
However, he said other cases were minor.

Dr Banza said some of those injured were a pregnant woman, another with severe hypertension while the third was unconscious and had to rushed to Livingstone General hospital unconcious.

There was also a near stampede when Munkombwe directed police officers to open a gate on the western side of the airport to allow in people to view the body.
But generally, the procession was done in a calm manner, without stampedes.
People started trooping to the airport at 03:30 hours.

The body arrived at 08:25 hours accompanied by Maureen, science minister Peter Daka, gender minister Patricia Mulasikwanda, sports minister Gabriel Namulambe and presidential affairs minister Cecil Holmes. Body viewing ended at 12:00 hours.

In Mongu, scores of people from Western Province thronged the Mongu airstrip to welcome President Mwanawasa's body from Solwezi on Wednesday.
Multitudes had gathered at the airstrip as early as 10:00 hours ahead of the body’s arrival at 13:48 hours.

The anxious crowd ran after the Zambia Air Force (ZAF) plane carrying President Mwanawasa's body, only to be restrained by alert security personnel.
Many who attended the occasion walked from the town centre and the outskirts to the airstrip, a distance of over two kilometres.

Business in the central business and administrative area came to a standstill for a long time as most people opted to bid farewell to their leadrer.

By mid-morning, most business premises were closed as people headed to either the airstrip or the Presidential Guesthouse, where body viewing was to be conducted.
Another group lined the airport road to merely catch a glimpse of the hearse carrying President Mwanawasa's casket, draped in the Zambian and State House flags.

Most marketeers abandoned their stands, street vendors packed their merchandise and taxi drivers joined the funeral procession, driving with lights turned on full beam.

However, confusion reigned at the Presidential Guesthouse after body viewing had started.

The people in the queue outside the guesthouse grew impatient at the slowness of the procession, opting to advance towards the gate of the guesthouse and force their way in the queue that was forming inside the yard.

In the process of controlling the long queue winding out for more a kilometre, police used minimum force but were met with great resistance from the mourners, who in the process broke the gate.

The crowd had overpowered the security personnel comprising the Zambia Army, Zambia Police and Zambia National Service (ZNS).

Some people fainted and gasped for breath during the furore but were saved by the quick intervention of the Red Cross team, who attended to them from a makeshift sickbay. Others sustained minor bruises, leaving some nurses’ uniforms blood-stained.

Security personnel laboured to control the crowd that had turned restive to view President Mwanawasa's body until the officers resorted to whipping them with combat belts.

Many lost personal effects like shoes, cellphones and money in the confusion while others had their clothes torn, entering the gate barely dressed. Fortunately, the nurses were at hand to cover the women whose clothes had been torn .

Later, security was beefed up, and the men and women in uniform managed to restore some order although people still pushed their way inside. Some mothers, in a bid to save their babies from suffocating, had to throw them across the fence to officers inside the premises.

Earlier at the airstrip, President Mwanawasa was given a quarter guard of honour and the defence brass band played music after prayers from pastors and defence chaplains for the first family and the country.

Western Province minister Adonis Mufalali, who led the mourners for body viewing, said President Mwanawasa was committed to improving the living standard of people in the country.

Mufalali also itemised various development projects that the province had achieved under the new deal administration like road rehabilitation, quality health service delivery and educational infrastructure development.

MMD provincial chairman Simasiku Namakando said Zambia had lost a great man who dedicated his life to improving the economy of the country.
Namakando said President Mwanawasa had valued the province as evidenced by the projects that he undertook.

However, the Litunga could not view the body as tradition does not allow him to look at a corpse. The body was accompanied to Mongu by first lady Maureen, relatives, senior citizens and senior government officials.

Labels: DANIEL MUNKOMBWE, MMD, MONGU

posted by MrK @ 3:52 AM