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Zambia needs change - Hakainde

Zambia needs change - Hakainde
By Inonge Noyoo and Mwala Kalaluka
Thursday September 25, 2008 [04:00]

UPND president Hakainde Hichilema yesterday called for political leadership change in Zambia. Speaking after successfully filing in his nomination papers, Hichilema said Zambia needed change and a better way of running government. He said it was clear from the problems faced by many Zambians that the country needed fresh blood and better thinking to deliver policies that would change people’s standards of living.

“There is time for everything, the time to be born and the time to die, there is time to come into leadership and time to go…Don’t vote for bayama, you won’t eat bayama, don’t vote for bashikulu you won’t eat bashikulu,” Hichilema said amid cheers from his supporters. “Ba Rupiah Banda na ba Sata mu ma 1960’s emobali, muma 1970s emobali, muma 1980s emobali, muma 1990s emobali na mu 2000, awe naba naka.”
He said the October 30 presidential election should be about what was best for the country.

“We need the best president to take Zambia to another level. We don’t want the presidency to be perpetuated by political rhetoric. We can’t keep on voting in the same leaders and expect different results. We need to vote across party lines and ethnicity,” he said.
Hichilema further observed that Vice-President Rupiah Banda was not the best person to carry on with late president Levy Mwanawasa’s vision because he did not understand it.

He said whereas president Mwanawasa did not want to increase the salaries and allowances for constitutional office holders, Vice-President Banda took advantage of his illness and absence to entertain the bill and only withdrew it when pressured to do so by the opposition and civil society.

Hichilema also challenged Vice-President Banda and Patriotic Front president Michael Sata to step aside and give Zambia a chance to be ruled by a fresh mind and strength.
A peaceful ambience characterised the Lusaka High Court yesterday when Hichilema filed his nomination papers following his arrival at around 10:30 hours.

UPND cadres chanted party slogans as Hichilema disembarked from his vehicle and made way into the Supreme Court amidst tight security. A traditional Nkoya xylophone was playing on the court’s green as Hichilema entered the court premises.
There was a light presence of police officers during the nomination process as compared to the intense security presence that characterised PF leader Michael Sata’s nomination undertaking on Tuesday.

And Hichilema’s declaration of assets and liabilities lodged before Chief Justice Ernest Sakala yesterday has revealed that he is K15.2 billion richer than he was in 2006 when he actively joined politics.
Hichilema’s declaration filed together with his nomination papers for the October 30 presidential election revealed that his net worth had increased from K23.6 billion to K38.8 billion.

The statutory declaration of assets and liabilities revealed that Hichilema's declared total assets stand at K40.1 billion from the previous K26.1 billion, with liabilities of K1.3 billion from the previous K2.5 billion.

He declared land and buildings valued at K20 billion, shares at K7 billion, receivables K2 billion, other assets K11 million and bank cash K500 million.

Hichilema also declared liabilities totaling K1.3 billion broken down as bank loans K0.8 billion, payables K0.3 billion and contingent K0.2 billion.

Labels: HAKAINDE HICHILEMA, UPND

posted by MrK @ 6:48 AM