Maravi

LETTERS - Benny Tetamashimba and Easterners

Threats by Teta
Written by Donal Simbeye

Allow me to express my disappointment and disgust at the arrogance of Benny Tetamashimba . Teta never ceases to amuse me with the nonsense that always comes from his mouth.

A few weeks ago, Benny Tetamashimba and his soul mate, Mike Mulongoti, threatened to beat up the electorate in North- Western Province if they vote for the opposition in the October 30 election.

Teta has done it again, this time in the Eastern Province and not only has he threatened the electorate, he has even preached tribalism, encouraging the Easterners to vote for RB not because he is the best candidate but because he comes from there.

Fellow Zambians, don’t be intimidated, don’t be threatened because you have the right to vote for anyone you choose. Zambia is our only home and we have to vote wisely regardless of what the angels of doom tell you.

Shame on you Teta! Much as we understand what you are going through, reflecting on what you are going to do after you lose your job next week, I strongly believe that does not warrant you the right to threaten people.
Please save us the nonsense !


http://www.postzambia.com/content/view/557/64/

Rupiah and Easterners
Written by Muhone Dishon M.J,Lusaka

As a proud and bonafide Easterner, I feel irritated seeing Rupiah's campaign team disgracefully parade the Vice-President on tribal lines each time they are campaining in Eastern Province. This has indeed dented the moral image of Easterners and a clear insult to our intelligence.

Teta and his cohorts must understand that Easterners are not so naive that he can play cheap political machinations and expect to win an election. We are not a nepotic province and we would appreciate if Rupiah was sold out grounds of merit rather than just saying Easterners must endorse him simply because he comes from the province.

Eastern Province cannot be used as a sacrificial lamb for political expedience and neither can it blindly advance the ambitions of someone whose entrance into the corridors of power is not only questionable but embarrassing to the people of the east.

How then does Teta think the whole province can blindly embrace someone appointed, not because they deserved it, but to reward cadres that worked hard during campaigns?
If Teta was intelligent enough, he should have unveiled Rupiah's agenda rather than play rhetoric and issue threats. He is not even our mbuya. I think this Rupiah-versus-Easterners talk is humiliating and I urge all Easterners to ignore Teta and vote wisely. As a province, we want to see Easterners with sublime integrity genuinely fight their own way into the leadership of this country and do us proud. Eastern Province is only ready to vote for the best candidate and not even Mpezeni will stand in our way. God bless Zambia.


http://www.postzambia.com/content/view/598/64/

UNIP policies are back

Allow me to comment on the manner Rupiah Banda is conducting his campaigns. It is amazing how history repeats itself.

The Post has informed the nation that Rupiah Banda is still a Unipist by his own admission in the interview he gave to The Post in December 2003.

To underscore his admission, UNIP has even whole heartedly embraced Rupiah Banda and so has Dr Kenneth Kaunda, the long-serving former leader of UNIP.

Those who had taken this lightly should start having nightmares because this is real. The usual short sighted economic policies of UNIP are back. Rupiah Banda has been performing some of the functions of the president of our country for only three months and within this short period he has shown an immense propensity to exercise those functions in the UNIP fashion.

He condones the following; arbitrary beatings reminiscent of vigilantes (recall the ‘by-air’ thugs) and the recent beatings of Muvi journalists by MMD thugs, silencing dissenting views (Mulongoti's threats), abuse of government property and worst of all, rewarding consumption at the expense of production (remember the coupons).

The recent announcement by Rupiah Banda of the reduction in fertiliser prices is a typical myopic UNIP way of running the economy.

By this policy, the government will subsidise fertiliser to a tune of K400 billion when Nitrogen Chemical of Zambia needs only K50 billion to operate at full capacity to produce this fertiliser locally and in abundance.

To date, Rupiah Banda has not done anything to have this money released to NCZ which is a more lasting solution to the availability and pricing of fertiliser. Fellow voters, beware. UNIP policies are back!


http://www.postzambia.com/content/view/600/64/

Tax reduction, govt revenue

I have been very disappointed with the way some MMD officials have been trying to mislead the nation.

They claim reducing taxes reduces government revenue but looking at it from a more serious point of view, it actually increases the revenue.

When a person with a low salary pays a lower tax, they get more money to spend on commodities they could not earlier afford.

This forces increased production in many sectors due to a higher demand. resulting in more employment, more people paying tax and at the end of the day more government revenue.


http://www.postzambia.com/content/view/637/64/

Vote with your heart
Written by Mulenga Chrispa

In a few days’ time, Zambia will be going to the polls to elect a new president. Fortunately, most Zambians have had the privilege of knowing both the positives and negatives of almost all the men competing for plot one.

It is, therefore, important that when the day of voting comes, we vote with our hearts and not our stomachs because it is our hearts that hold the key to everything.

It is our hearts, not stomachs, that know the suffering our dear patients are enduring in our dirty and poorly-funded hospitals, the inhumane conditions school-going children are subjected to in boarding schools and the meagre salaries we draw at the end of the month.

Let’s vote for a candidatewhose manifesto holds promises for our country and not because of bribes.

It is not fair that 44 years after independence, some places, like Mporokoso in Northern Province, have never seen a tarmac.

It is sad indeed that most of our citizens are still living in abject poverty when politicians are abusing state property and dipping their fingers in public coffers.

It’s only your vote, which you should cast without fail, that will change the dishonest management of our country.

http://www.postzambia.com/content/view/658/64/

Teta’s desperation
Written by Concerned citizen

I’m again shocked by Teta's remarks to Easterners whom he told
they will be considered useless if they don’t vote for Rupiah. Is he in order to force people in Eastern Province to vote for Rupiah on tribal grounds?

Even when they know that Rupiah is not the right presidential candidate, should they go ahead and vote for him? What qualities is Teta showing to the people of Zambia? Teta is showing desperation by insulting Easterners and Zambians at large. Teta is indirectly de-campaining Rupiah, although Rupiah can’t see it.

My advice to Teta is that he should think before uttering any word because when a word is released, like a bullet, it cannot be withdrawn.



http://www.postzambia.com/content/view/665/64/

Teta’s uncontrolled mouth
Written by Concerned peer educator, Mikomfwa, Luanshya.

Allow me to express concern about Benny Tetamashimba's uncontrolled mouth. Since I knew him as the MMD spokesperson, he hasn't spoken anything that is educative or informative. He speaks like an uneducated, uncivilised old man who doesn't know anything.

I was surprised as I browsed The Post website on October 24 to find that he said, "Easterners will be considered useless people if they do not vote for Vice-President Rupiah Banda who is their own son.

" It doesn't really make sense. If a child is of bad behaviour and brings shame to the parents, will they not discipline him/her?

Obviously a parent won't reject a child, he/she will not just give the child sensitive responsibilities.

This takes us back to what one of the presidential candidates said that “Rupiah is a known tribalist and his tribalism is so cheap..."

The easterners should not be coerced to vote for a shameful "son".

In fact, I would consider the easterners wise is they voted for any of the other three candidates, so as to teach this "son" a lesson.

Teta must learn to speak like a role model. What will the young generation take him for if he speaks gibberish.

Labels: BENNY TETAMASHIMBA, EASTERN PROVINCE, ELECTIONS, MMD

posted by MrK @ 10:44 PM