Maravi

Sata promises not to stop Chiluba's plunder cases

Sata promises not to stop Chiluba's plunder cases
By By Patson Chilemba in Mpika
Monday October 13, 2008 [04:00]

PATRIOTIC Front (PF) president Michael Sata has promised not to stop plunder cases involving former president Frederick Chiluba once elected Republican president. And Sata has charged that a number of his colleagues were supporting Vice-President Rupiah Banda who is more user-friendly to corruption. In an interview after addressing a campaign rally at Chundaponda in Mpika on Saturday, Sata said he would let the due process of the law deal with Chiluba.

"I promise not to interfere with court proceedings. Let the court clear people. Me, I have been going to court. I never pleaded with Levy Mwanawasa to drop my charges. I have even remained in prison for 40 days. Others have never set one foot in prison.

So if I am talking of corruption and I drop allegations of corruption, how can I fight corruption?" Sata asked. "Let the court deal with the matter. Let the law take its course."

Sata said although he did not expect to have many friends on his corruption stance, he would fight the vice vigorously once elected into office. He said corruption should be fought at all costs because it was robbing the country of its resources.

Sata said a number of his colleagues were supporting Vice-President Banda because they had skeletons in their cupboards. He said many politicians were supporting Vice-President Banda because he was more user friendly to corruption.

Sata further said people like National Democratic Focus (NDF) president Ben Mwila were scared of their own shadows. He said these people were 'dubiously' courting Vice-President Banda because they had serious issues to hide.

"They are more scared of Michael Sata being president because I'll not use kid gloves to fight corruption. That's why some people can even come out to say 'we don't know where he comes from'. A person you worked with in Cabinet, you don't know where he comes from?" Sata wondered.

"The country is suffering today for making wrong decisions we made because we were induced by corruption, and the example I'll give you...the mistakes we made during privatisation.

Those who were involved in privatisation were induced by corruption. That's why retrenchees have not been paid up to now."

Sata said corruption was killing most parastatals such as TAZARA, Zambia Railways, Zamtel, Zesco and Zambia State Insurance Corporation (ZSIC).
"Two years ago, I complained about Rhodnie Sisala awarding a huge contract to a Chinese company. What has happened to that? People don't even talk about it," he said.

Sata said he would expand the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and at the same time consider extending the mandate of the Task Force to the 27 years of Dr Kaunda's reign and the seven years of late president Mwanawasa's.

He said he did not want corruption prosecution to appear as though it was meant for a selected few.

And asked where PF was getting its funding for the campaigns, Sata said the campaign was being funded by well-wishers.

Asked further to mention the same well-wishers, Sata responded: "If I said this one and this one, they will sort them out because this is a vicious government."

On the chartered helicopter that he is now using on the campaign trail and the role of Lusaka businessman Geoffrey Bwalya Mwamba, Sata responded: "GBM can afford a bus and a fixed wing but can he manage a helicopter? A fixed trip to Mpika from Lusaka is US $5,000. A helicopter is US $252 dollars per flying hour."

And addressing a rally earlier, Sata said the spirits of the country's forefathers who fought for independence were crying for him to deliver people from poverty.

He said the forefathers fought for the country to be liberated politically, socially and economically.

Sata said suffering was not restricted to common men because chiefs were also being paraded like cattle going for slaughter.

He said Vice-President Banda failed to visit chiefs in their respective villages because 'he did not know how to go to a pit latrine'.

"That's why he's calling chiefs to the Boma, as opposed to visiting them in their chiefdoms," Sata said.

He further urged Vice-President Banda not 'to take people for fools' by implementing desperate last-minute programmes such as the grading of roads.

Sata said Vice-President Banda has been Vice-President for two years but never thought of visiting people as well as implementing the programmes.

On the opposition leaders' campaigning for MMD, Sata said they were an embarrassment to multi-party politics in the country. He said even the parties they represented had either gone into a coma or were totally insignificant to the country's political landscape.
"How can you say you complain against poverty when the same people you are standing with on the platform have brought poverty?" asked Sata. "Ben Mwila, I don't even know the name of his political party."

Labels: CHILUBA, SATA

posted by MrK @ 4:48 AM