Maravi

Kaunda tried but failed to build Rupiah's image - Sata

Kaunda tried but failed to build Rupiah's image - Sata
By Florence Bupe and Chibaula Silwamba
Thursday October 09, 2008 [04:00]

OPPOSITION Patriotic Front (PF) presidential candidate Michael Sata yesterday said no one can manage to build Vice-President Rupiah Banda’s image because he is rough and casual. And Sata has charged that Dr Kenneth Kaunda is a cheat. Meanwhile, Brazilian foreign affairs minister is expected to hold private talks with Sata and other presidential candidates next week.

Featuring on a live phone-in programme on Radio Yatsani, Sata said there was no way anyone could transform Vice-President Banda’s image because he was rough and casual.

“You can only repair a house when it’s there. In this case, what is there to build up on? Which image-builder can build Rupiah Banda as I know him? Where is that image-builder going to come from… from hell?” Sata asked. “Kenneth Kaunda tried to build him… he is rough and casual. He has nothing in his rake.”

Sata was responding to a caller who had asked him to give his view on the decision by the MMD to hire image-builders for Vice-President Banda.

The caller, who identified himself as Imbuwa, also wondered where the MMD had acquired funds from to hire foreign image-builders, expressing concern that the ruling party was using government coffers for their benefit.

Sata also said the MMD was using intimidating campaign tactics because they had no development to show off.

“The panic which is coming up is old UNIP tactics of petrol bombs. Right now PF is everywhere, and if we wanted to react, we would. We just don’t want to react because we know that the property we are going to damage belongs to us. There is no issue from MMD because there’s nothing they can show us. The only thing they can show us is misery, unemployment and poverty. That’s why they are panicking,” Sata said. “They’ll do anything, we have information that they are distributing T- shirts, chitenge and K500,000 to some households.”

Sata said the people surrounding Vice- President Banda were panicking because they knew that he (Sata) would bring them to book over corrupt practices once he assumed the national presidential office.

“They are panicking because they know I’ll deal with corruption. I’ll continue from where President Mwanawasa left, but in a much more ruthless manner,” Sata said. “They know Rupiah Banda is soft on corruption, and I’m not. When Dr Kaunda cautioned over my becoming president, he didn’t say anything about me being dishonest. But he should tell us why he fired Rupiah from NAMBOARD.”

Sata threw out calls by Chisamba MMD member of parliament Moses Muteteka for Zambians to forgive Vice-President Banda for his past practices, saying there was no way he could be forgiven before being prosecuted.

“The people who are supposed to be forgiven are those in prisons. How do we forgive someone before they are prosecuted? There are so many things that Rupiah has to be prosecuted for,” Sata said.

Asked whether Vice-President Banda was the only factor in the elections, Sata said the only factor was decency, not an individual. Sata said it was wrong for Dr Kaunda to openly take sides in favour of his preferred presidential candidate.

“Dr Kaunda has strengthened my political gains because the old man is a cheat. If you go to America, there are so many former heads of state who are still alive. They have not told the American people who has to be president and who should not. They rally behind aspiring candidates in their parties. Now, instead of the old man Dr Kaunda rallying behind his party, he is trying to bring the old misery of UNIP through Rupiah Banda,” he said.

Sata also said there was need to investigate veteran politician Vernon Mwaanga’s trip to South Africa and establish whether he had really travelled on health grounds.

And Brazilian Ambassador to Zambia Josal Luiz Pellegrino yesterday told Sata that Brazil’s foreign minister would visit Zambia on Sunday to meet government officials and presidential candidates.

“This is his way of showing to the Zambian people and the Zambian government how this country is important to Brazil,” Ambassador Pellegrino told Sata when he paid a courtesy call on him. “The foreign minister is coming from Mozambique and his visit is going to be very short. He will arrive here on the 19th of October and he will leave late in the evening of the 19th October. He will meet the Acting President, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Kabinga Pande, he would like also to meet president Dr Kenneth Kaunda, president Michael Sata, president Hakainde Hichilema and Mr Godfrey Miyanda, so I am extending to you this wish of my minister if you could meet him.”
Sata agreed to meet the Brazilian foreign affairs minister.

Speaking earlier, Sata said there was need for Zambia to improve its relationship with other developing countries such as Brazil, Chile, India, China, Argentina and many others.

“Zambia, in the last 44 years has never paid more emphasis to developing nations; we have been more stereotyped, were we have paid more emphasis to already developed countries – the European nations, America, United Kingdom,” Sata observed. “We pay lip service to countries like India, Latin American countries, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Argentina but there is a lot we can learn from these countries. We need the technology from our brothers. Zambia has the same climate, the same soils like Brazil. If we pay much emphasis not paying lip service, apart from only growing maize, we have to grow rice at large scale, grow wheat at large scale. We can grow practically everything.” He said Zambia was very lucky because it has a smaller population, vast land, fertile land, plenty of water and other resources.

“Corruption has delayed and retarded our development in all sectors of human endeavours because where there is corruption you don’t get any production. Where there is corruption, people become corrupt because of uncertainty of what will happen tomorrow,” he said. “We want a civil service which can run without politicians. If you have a large number of civil servants on contracts, it creates despondence and when it creates despondence it creates uncertainty and a number of people end up being corrupt.”
Sata said Zambia should dismantle institutionalised corruption. He also observed that Zambia was a lead producer of emerald but Zambians had not benefited from the mineral because of corruption.

“Emerald is highly priced than diamond; Botswana managed their diamond properly, Botswana is now very rich,” he said.

Sata said Zambia needs to learn from Brazil on how the Latin American country had improved its land, air, water communications and agriculture.

“We have not put emphasis on coffee production. I would like my farming community and business community to visit your country, Chile and all these other countries so that they can learn something,” said Sata.

In response Ambassador Pellegrino said coffee was responsible for Brazilian growth.
“But the Zambian coffee is better than the Brazilian coffee,” said Ambassador Pellegrino.
Meanwhile, MMD’s Mwansabombwe former member of parliament Maybin Mubanga dismissed Sata’s statement that the Mwansabombwe parliamentary by-election was caused by him after he disrespected Mwata Kazembe, chief of the Lunda people of Luapula Province.
Mubanga said he had never disrespected Mwata Kazembe.

Labels: KENNETH KAUNDA, RUPIAH BANDA, SATA

posted by MrK @ 12:34 PM