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Simutanyi is a liar, coward – Malupenga

Simutanyi is a liar, coward – Malupenga
Written by Chibaula Silwamba
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 3:26:49 PM

POST managing editor Amos Malupenga yesterday denounced Pangolin Consulting director Dr Neo Simutanyi as a liar and a coward, and challenged him to tell the truth about the opinion poll he conducted concerning presidential candidates in tomorrow's election.

Reacting to Dr Simutanyi's press statement disputing yesterday's Post lead story based on an opinion poll done by Pangolin Consulting indicating that opposition Patriotic Front (PF) presidential candidate Michael Sata would win 37 per cent of the total votes cast ahead of MMD and UPND candidates, Malupenga said it was unfortunate that Dr Simutanyi could shamelessly attempt to create an impression that The Post published an opinion poll that never existed.

“I feel sad that I should be discussing this issue because the information I am about to give you was given to me by Dr Simutanyi in confidence,” Malupenga said. “I feel sad because as a journalist, I am professionally expected not to disclose whatever information is given to me in confidence. However, confidentiality can only exist when there is truthfulness between the parties involved. In this case, Dr Simutanyi is not being truthful.

His press statement has compelled me to break that confidence because he is deliberately trying to misinform the public and create an impression that our story quoted an opinion poll that never existed. I didn't want to be misunderstood by Dr Simutanyi that I have breached the confidence, so I phoned him the moment I heard that he had released a press statement.

“I told him that I didn't expect a man of his caliber to behave the way he did because he knew what he discussed with me in confidence concerning that matter.

So I gave him notice; I said: 'tomorrow don't feel betrayed or don't feel that I have broken your confidence when you read in the newspaper what you discussed with me in confidence because you have put me in an awkward situation, the integrity and credibility of our newspaper are at stake.'”

Malupenga narrated that on Sunday morning, Dr Simutanyi, who is one of The Post columnists, went to the newspaper's head office in Lusaka.

“When I saw him pass by my office, I asked Dr Simutanyi to see me as soon as he was done with his business,” Malupenga narrated.

“After a few minutes, Dr Simutanyi came to my office and I asked him: 'We hear that you have also conducted an opinion poll on the elections and you are due to release your results. When is the press briefing because I am told that you will be releasing the results today or tomorrow?' Dr Simutanyi said to me: 'Yes we conducted the opinion poll but we are not releasing the results to the public because we were just commissioned to conduct the poll.

We did our work and handed over our findings to the people who commissioned us and that is where our business ends. If they want to make that information public, they will do it themselves. We will have nothing to do with that.' And I asked him, 'who commissioned you?' He said, 'I can't tell you. If they want you to know, they will tell you.'”

Malupenga narrated further that Dr Simutanyi went on to compare Steadman Group's opinion poll results to theirs.

“Dr Simutanyi said the pattern was the same although there were some variations in figures here and there. He said Sata is taking it although not by the 46 per cent that was announced by Steadman Group,” Malupenga narrated. “Dr Simutanyi said their results revealed that Sata would get 37 per cent of the total votes cast while Rupiah Banda will poll 32 per cent. Dr Simutanyi further told me that Sata this time had an advantage because their poll results revealed that PF was leading in Central Province with 37 per cent while MMD was at 35 per cent. In other words, he said MMD has lost Central Province to PF.

“We didn't discuss HH so much because I think we were talking more about Sata and RB because Dr Simutanyi himself said that all the indicators are that Sata is winning. He said their percentage of undecided voters was less by one when compared to Steadman Group. He was confident of the Sata victory because he said usually, from experience, the majority of undecided voters vote for the opposition. Dr Simutanyi was even more confident about the results of their opinion poll because he said they interviewed more participants than Steadman Group did. He told me that they interviewed 1,200 people while Steadman Group interviewed just over a thousand.”

Malupenga said all this was discussed in confidence.

“That is why you Chibaula, when it was decided that you follow up that story, when there was that SMS [Short Message Service] going round about the same opinion poll, I asked you to talk to the people mentioned in the SMS because, although I knew something about it, I realised that I couldn't give you the information which was given to me in confidence. That is why I told you to contact Pangolin and Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), who - according to the information we received - commissioned that opinion poll,” Malupenga said.

“Of course, FES denied ever commissioning any opinion poll. Dr Simutanyi refused to give you an interview and referred you to me because he had discussed the matter with me earlier. Obviously, Dr Simutanyi was looking for protection from me which I gave him because I didn't give you any of those details we discussed in confidence. That is why you see that the details I am giving you now are not exactly the same as those in the story that we published. I told you to do your own investigations so that we publish only your findings from other sources. This also explains one or two different figures in the story compared to the details Dr Simutanyi gave me in confidence.”

Malupenga said he was therefore taken aback when he saw Dr Simutanyi's press statement attempting to trample with impunity on The Post's credibility.

“If there was a wrong figure in our story, Dr Simutanyi should have addressed his mind to that instead of trying to trash the whole story and pretend that such a poll was never conducted at all,” Malupenga said. “I don't know who he is trying to impress or please by saying what he is saying about us.”

Malupenga said Dr Simutanyi, through his press statement, had forced him to disclose the issues they discussed in confidence.

“I phoned him and expressed my disappointment with him because he is now pushing me against the wall to start discussing things that I discussed with him in confidence because I can't just ignore such a statement for the sake of keeping confidentiality,” Malupenga said. “Maybe it was deliberate for him to tell half truths knowing that since the truth that was discussed in confidence, will never be exposed. Dr Simutanyi's statement is too serious to be ignored. By implication, he is saying that we have an agenda which we are in a hurry to prosecute and prove a point so we are even creating opinion polls that never existed.”

Malupenga said instead of misleading the public, Dr Simutanyi should tell the truth on the matter.

“He knows that there is a lot more he told me on Sunday when we analysed the two opinion polls - Steadman Group and their opinion poll. But I think that what I have given you is sufficient for the purpose of clearing the wrong impression that Dr Simutanyi is trying to create,” said Malupenga.

And when he was later contacted by Post editor-in-chief Fred M'membe who wanted to find out from him what the truth about the poll was, Dr Simutanyi said the poll was not carried out by Pangolin but by another organisation.

When asked to disclose the name of the organisation, Dr Simutanyi said it would be a breach of confidentiality. M'membe further asked Dr Simutanyi if he was associated with the poll in any way. His response was: “Not really.”

Labels: AMOS MALUPENGA, DR NEO SIMUTANYI, THE POST

posted by MrK @ 3:28 PM