MMD hires image-builders for Rupiah

MMD hires image-builders for Rupiah
By Lambwe Kachali
Tuesday October 07, 2008 [04:00]

THE ruling MMD has hired four image-building consultants from the United States and United Kingdom to help improve Vice-President Rupiah Banda's political image to the public.

Reliable sources disclosed yesterday that four foreign consultants were hired recently and had already started working on building Vice-President Banda's public image.

“That is why these experts from abroad have been brought in to help improve the MMD's image in the eyes of the public which, from their own assessment, is not so impressive,” the source said.

“Some of the functions of these consultants are to look at the daily media reports, analyse them and then advise the next step to take, in an effort to make the electorate believe that Vice-President Banda is the right candidate.”

The source said the image builders were also working to improve Vice-President Banda's radio and television adverts as well as billboards, posters and fliers.

The source said the recent changes in Vice-President Banda's campaign committee, which saw the firing of national campaign committee manager Mike Mulongoti, were partly as a result of the input from the hired consultants.

But when contacted for comment yesterday, MMD deputy national campaign manager Jeff Kaande - who could neither deny nor confirm the hiring of image builders - said the MMD would apply any strategy to win the election.

He said every political party had its own campaign strategies to defeat opponents. Kaande said what MMD was doing in order to improve the image of its candidate was none of The Post's business.

“That is our strategy to win this election. This is an in-house issue; it is an administrative strategy to put our candidate to State House. Whether we hire image builders or consultants to help advertise our candidate is not your issue, it is ours within MMD,” Kaande said.

He said all those who were de-campaigning Vice-President Banda were wasting their time because MMD was doing everything possible to win the presidential election this month-end.

Kaande said advertisements were an important component in an election and MMD was doing their best to sell Vice-President Banda to the voters.

“Don't you (The Post) have specialists there to do certain functions? So, what can stop MMD from hiring such specialists? You The Post want us to lose but we won't. I am telling the truth. Whether you like it or not, come November 1, we will be swearing in RB into State House,” said Kaande.

On his new appointment as deputy campaign manager, Kaande said he had already started doing the best to campaign.

And newly appointed national campaign manager Kabinga Pande said he would work hard to ensure their candidate won the election.

On Sunday, MMD national secretary Katele Kalumba announced that the ruling party had made changes to its campaign committee.
Kalumba said information minister Mike Mulongoti was replaced by foreign affairs minister Kabinga Pande as the new national campaign manager. This move, inevitably, amounted to Mulongoti's dismissal or at least demotion from the position of national campaign manager.

Kalumba said Pande would be deputized by MMD deputy national secretary Kaande who would also have specific oversight role for Southern Province.

Kalumba said Mulongoti had been posted to the Copperbelt Province where he would work with defence minister George Mpombo and former Mwansabombwe member of parliament Maybin Mubanga.

“Mr Mulongoti, who is MMD elections chairman of the national executive committee (NEC) will continue his normal party role but has been assigned for the purpose of this election to the Copperbelt as new coordinator,” Kalumba said.

He also announced that Jazzman Chikwakwa had been redeployed to Luapula Province as the new co-ordinator. Kalumba further said MMD national chairman and acting party president Michael Mabenga and himself had been assigned oversight responsibilities for campaign teams in North-Western, Southern, Eastern, Luapula, Northern, Copperbelt and Central provinces.

Kalumba said MMD information and publicity chairman Benny Tetamashimba would remain Vice-President Banda's election agent. He also said MMD was confident that the changes would bring about greater confidence and integrity in the MMD campaign and would also win the confidence of its supporters and members.

“The MMD has also reformed its campaign funds management in order to ensure greater accountability and better targeting of expenditure within the legitimate parameters of the campaign strategy and electoral law,” said Kalumba.