Friday, October 24, 2008

Sata is winning – Munkombwe

Sata is winning – Munkombwe
Written by Mutale Kapekele in Choma

MICHAEL Sata is winning if the MMD makes even a small mistake, Southern Province minister Daniel Munkombwe has said. Addressing civil servants at the council offices in Choma yesterday, Munkombwe said anybody who loses on the Copperbelt cannot win the October 30 presidential elections.

"It is unfortunate that even in this province [Southern], it is Sata we are fighting against and not the UPND. So if we make even a small mistake, he is coming in, he is winning and you don't want that to happen," Munkombwe said.

Munkombwe said the time for political recruitment was over but that it was time to accept and face political realities. He said civil servants had the power to influence opinion and that they had a huge task to decided whether to put Vice-President Rupiah Banda or Patriotic Front (PF) leader Sata in office.

"As civil servants and political opinion makers, those of us who are marketing presidential hopefuls would like to appeal to you not to make decisions based on huge crowds at rallies because if you do that, you will regret," Munkombwe said. "You opinion makers must choose between Sata and Rupiah Banda because the race is between them. But I will not tell you what will happen if you take Sata to State House, you know yourselves."

PF leader Michael Sata pleading with the Lukulu Police officer-in-charge not to bring guns at his rally because they could scare away inocent citizens. - Picture by Thomas Nsama

Munkombwe said despite Sata's visible popularity, it would not be advisable for the latter to be president of Zambia because he did not have majority representation in Parliament.

"You need at least 72 members of parliament to command the House. Sata only has 40 MPs and Hichilema 22," Munkombwe said. "Even if they combine forces, they still don't have the numbers to influence Parliament. So it is only right that the MMD continue until 2011."

Munkombwe also charged that UPND president Hakainde Hichilema was too rich and arrogant to listen to reason.

"After the 2006 election, late president Levy Mwanawasa asked Hichilema to be his vice-president but he is too rich and too arrogant to listen to reason and we told him that he could be president in 2011," Munkombwe charged. "Now he will be number three again in these elections. So those of you who still have fantasies that he will be president, you are entitled to dream."

He said he would like to see Hichilema lose the presidential election in seven days’ time.

"Hichilema was accusing me of being a poor man but it is poor people who put people into State House," Munkombwe said. "It is my wish and hope that he [Hichilema] loses the elections seven days from now and if you vote for him, you will be embarrassed because he has become irrelevant."

The civil servants, mostly teachers, were ordered from their offices to attend Munkombwe's meeting through the office of Choma district commissioner Laiven Apuleni.

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