Maravi

Rupiah vows to neutralise Sata

Rupiah vows to neutralise Sata
By Lambwe Kachali in Mongu
Friday October 03, 2008 [04:00]

REPUBLICAN Vice-President Rupiah Banda has said he knows all the 'tactics' of neutralising the poison of Patriotic Front's cobra who is only dominant in Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces.

And United Liberal Party (ULP) leader Sakwiba Sikota described PF leader Michael Sata and UPND president Hakainde Hichilema as property grabbers, saying they are selfish politicians with nothing tangible to offer the people of Zambia.

Addressing a fairly attended rally, mostly by children, at Blue Gums grounds on Wednesday, Vice-President Banda said he would win this month's elections.

Vice-President Banda said the MMD life was back and the party was ready to take on PF and UPND in all political corners.

He said the political battle that MMD had waged was irreversible and they would vigorously campaign across the country to ensure that MMD retained the presidency.

"My own party the MMD, we are back to life again and prepare to take on the PF, prepare to take on the UPND and reduce them to the smaller parties. So we are going throughout the country, we are going to fight in Lusaka and Copperbelt. I want to ensure that we fight a big battle in all provinces. We know the tactics and that is by serious campaigns. We are going to dislodge PF from Lusaka, we have got to wipe out street by street, market by market, house by house," Vice-President Banda said.

Earlier at Mongu airstrip, Vice-President Banda, apparently refering to Sata, said in the 2006 general election, the country's peace and security was threatened when PF led the polls in Lusaka and Copperbelt provinces .

He urged MMD members to intensify campaigns so that Sata did not score more votes along the line of rail in this election.

"The people of the Western Province are well known for being explicit, for saying what they mean, they will not demonstrate one thing and vote another way. Truly during the last election we heard about the results on the line of rail. We heard that that other political party and that other leader had won convincingly on the Copperbelt and everyone all over Zambia was scared of what the result were appearing to be.

I was in Eastern Province at the time campaigning, hoping that MMD would win but when the results started coming, I was sitting next to my uncle and he said to me, 'you know how I am feeling my son?' I said 'no'. He said 'I am feeling as if the cobra is alive, is at the door and I am here with my children, my grandchildren I don't know where to run to. I am so scared to see that black cobra, with red eyes, with red tongue, spitting venom at the people of Zambia',"

Vice-President Banda said. "And when the results started coming from North-Western Province, they wiped up everything on the Copperbelt. I am grateful for the results to wipe out the poison of that venomous snake in Lusaka. And the rest of the country relaxed and realised that the Lord was still with us, that we had won, we had defeated this afoul snake that was threatening our peace and security. And I am sure that will be repeated this time around."

He said although he had many political rivals, he was a determined politician who wanted to rule and unite the country without discrimination.

Vice-President Banda promised the people of Western Province good schools, hospitals, road networks once elected as president.

"I will work together with my colleagues to ensure that we make Zambia a better place to live in than it is today," he said.

He said the October 30 elections would be easy to win because he had a lot of support from chiefs, opposition parties and many other organisations across the country.

And Sikota urged the Lozi people not to be cheated by Sata and Hichilema because their parties could not form government as they had few members of parliament.

"Everybody in Zambia knows for a fact that in Parliament the MMD has the majority members of parliament. They have 83 elected members of parliament. The second political party is the Patriotic Front and even when we include the MPs Mr Sata says he does not want, he has only 39 members of parliament. UPND has only got 22 members of parliament and if you are to add UPND and PF they only make 61 members of parliament against 83 of MMD plus three from ULP, two from FDD, three independent, plus one from NDF makes 94 members of parliament against that 61.

So let nobody from PF or UPND lie to you that they are able to go to Parliament and pass any law. They do not have the numbers to pass any law and they will not be able to deliver on any promise that they make to you," Sikota said.

He said Sata and Hichilema were fighting for the presidency to achieve their selfish interests.

"I am a lawyer by profession and quite often I am in a situation where people come because somebody has died in their family and then there is a question of how they are going to divide the property.

Property grabbers, those are people who come when somebody has passed away and they just want to pick things even those they cannot use. There are some who will come from very far villages where they don't even use electricity and are there fighting that I will take the electric stove when he knows when he gets back he will not even be able to use that stove.

So PF and the UPND are behaving exactly like property grabbers who want to grab things they cannot even use. How can they want the presidency when they don't have enough members of parliament to make the presidency work," Sikota asked. "They are just property grabbers and you should say no to them, no property grabbing in Zambia. Let's give the goods to the people who can utilise them and that are MMD and Mr Rupiah Banda.

Let us also look to our neighbouring Malawi. Malawi almost went into the situation of crisis because they failed to pass their budget for ten months. Since last year they only managed to pass it on 28th August when President Bingu Wa Mutharika threatened to bring in the army. Would you like the army to come and rule Zambia because of a few selfish individuals who want to be president?"

And a youth was almost manhandled when he shouted that Sikota was a sellout politician whose party had been swallowed by MMD, adding he Sikota was positioning for a job in MMD. He shouted that Sikota wanted to eat with both hands.

However, some ULP members pounced on him but he was quickly rescued by the police officers.

Residents also jeered at education minister Professor Geoffrey Lungwangwa when he stood to greet them. The residents said in protest that Prof Lungwangwa had failed his constituency and would be kicked out in 2011.

Meanwhile, information minister Mike Mulongoti said Vice-President Banda had the best credentials among the contenders, saying it was the reason why some people were de-campaigning him.
"From what I know Sata went to school up to standard four. Imagine in this era where people use computers, is it really good as a country to vote for a grade four as Republican president?" asked Mulongoti.

Among those in Vice-President Banda's entourage were Luena member of parliament Charles Milupi, Sikota, Akashambatwa Mbikusita-Lewanika, Mulongoti, Joseph Mulyata, Benny Tetamashimba and Prof Lungwangwa.

Labels: RUPIAH BANDA, SATA

posted by MrK @ 4:28 AM